Reseñas de la crítica

The film’s lingering shots of nature set to Ishibashi’s beautiful, often unnerving score... reinforce the idea of two converging forces, not necessarily in conflict, but independent nonetheless, the music imbuing emotional layers while maintaining its discreteness. Hamaguchi’s narrative, in turn, wanders between characters and storylines before joining them up for the film’s unsettling conclusion. But to its credit, the film never feels like a patchwork, but rather a cohesive whole. Or to be more specific: a haunting and meditative yet often hilarious cohesive whole.

After so fruitful a collaboration on “Drive My Car,” Hamaguchi and Ishibashi may have topped themselves with something even more compelling... The ending will probably confound you, but its power lies in what particulars are provided, and how it leaves us wondering about the unstoppable dreams of humans and the ageless realities of nature.

The dreamworld of movies often feels at a profound remove from ordinary life, distance that brings its own obvious pleasures. It’s far rarer when a movie, as this one does, speaks to everyday life and to the beauty of a world that we neglect even in the face of its calamitous loss.

“Evil Does Not Exist” is something different, starting out as a character study cum eco parable and morphing into an enigmatic nightmare.

[T]he film is an intricately conceived and executed illustration of playwright Anton Chekhov’s famous maxim that if a pistol is introduced in the first act, it must be fired by the second. Words and images from early scenes acquire new depth and force by the climax, which explodes on screen to chilling and lingering effect, leaving the audience wondering exactly what they have just seen. That is, the pistol goes off to perfection — and the echo remains long after the credits roll.

[A]s both Drive My Car and Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy demonstrated, in Hamaguchi’s hands, even the most banal conversations become oddly compelling. While not as satisfying as the director’s two previous films – a jarring ending knocks the picture off balance – this uneasy eco-parable is still very much worth your time.

Director Ryusuke Hamaguchi subverts expectations beautifully, but this brain-teaser makes no bones about the violence that often comes with ‘progress’.

With Evil Does Not Exist, he has made a peculiar film that could easily be labelled as an eco-drama, but equally, it could be argued to be a contemporary, wintry spin on the psychological Western... a compelling friction between its narrative and atmosphere... [help] make this the filmmaker’s most beguiling work to date.

Hamaguchi has a mastery of camera movement and deliberate tone that can be mesmerizing. Still, his pace here is a bit overly dragged out at times, and his ending is a bit of a blunt instrument. It’s impossible not to admire the filmmaking and appreciate the themes that Hamaguchi is unpacking, but this is a minor work from a major filmmaker. Still worth your time.

Evil Does Not Exist is less open than Hamaguchi’s leisurely, airy Happy Hour... and Drive My Car... Passion and Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy leave room for the viewer to roam among characters and dramatic possibilities. By stark contrast, Evil Does Not Exist is curt and concentrated, less interested in its characters than in ruminating in a roiling atmosphere, eventually offering proof of its theme.

It is a laudable move by Hamaguchi to challenge the audience. When much of cinema today is about answers, it is admirable for at least one artist to ask some questions of us. Even so, it has to be noted that the particulars of Hamaguchi’s charade are unsatisfactorily set up... For what it is, the film is immaculately directed and staged with the quiet competence of a superlative filmmaker.

“Evil Does Not Exist” is hesitant to reveal itself — until an ending reminiscent of Korean filmmaker Lee Chang-dong’s “Burning,” also centered on a man who decides he can take no more. This is slow, patient cinema that on its surface seems as serene as a Kelly Reichardt film, but has a darker, less hopeful attitude about life lived in a purer world the deeper you go.