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Evil Does Not Exist

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Evil Does Not Exist

Released May 3, 2024

1h 46m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

91%

Tomatometer

159 Reviews

83%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Verified Ratings

In the rural alpine hamlet of Mizubiki, not far from Tokyo, Takumi and his daughter, Hana, lead a modest life gathering water, wood, and wild wasabi for the local udon restaurant. Increasingly, the townsfolk become aware of a talent agency's plan to build an opulent glamping site nearby, offering city residents a comfortable "escape" to the snowy wilderness. When two company representatives arrive and ask for local guidance, Takumi becomes conflicted in his involvement, as it becomes clear that the project will have a pernicious impact on the community. Ryusuke Hamaguchi's follow up to his Academy Award®-winning DRIVE MY CAR is a foreboding fable on humanity's mysterious, mystical relationship with nature. As sinister gunshots echo from the forest, both the locals and representatives confront their life choices and the haunting consequences they have.

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Critics Consensus

Evil Does Not Exist stands on the battle lines between modern civilization and the natural world, offering a perspective that's as quietly measured as it is entrancing.

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Moira MacDonald

Seattle Times

It’s about how the indigo darkness of a forest at night becomes a blanket, and about how the arrival of strangers can change a place (or change the strangers), and about the idea of something precious being forever lost.

Rated: 3.5/4

May 22, 2024

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Justin Chang

NPR

As he's done before, Hamaguchi gives us characters who are too complicated and richly drawn to be reduced to any one type. Yet that doesn't explain how hauntingly different this movie feels from his other work.

May 14, 2024

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Peter Rainer

FilmWeek (LAist)

It does reflect some of the struggles in modern Japan between rural and urban, but I thought it was a little bit too slow and not up to par.

May 13, 2024

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Geoffrey Macnab

iNews.co.uk

Perhaps it is best not to scratch your head about the film’s increasingly oblique meaning, but to simply try to enjoy the exquisite imagery, sound and music on its terms.

Rated: 3/5

Jan 17, 2025

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Sarah Boslaugh

TheArtsStl

Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s film tops my list of “I’m not sure what this means but I can’t stop thinking about it” films this year.

Rated: 8/10

Jan 16, 2025

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Mitchell Beaupre

The Film Stage

Evil Does Not Exist is yet another delicate, gentle picture from Hamaguchi that contains tidal waves of emotion underneath the surface waiting to crack through and overpower you.

Rated: A-

Dec 22, 2024

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Michael Marchaino

this movie touched me in many ways. LOVED THE STORYLINE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE Plot LOVED THE ACTING PARTICULARLY THE YOUNG boy and his interaction with the corporate entity imposing the building lot clamping site and the environmental impact to the streams. hat ran. downhill

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/08/24

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Sue

Soooo slow. And yet.sooo ambiguous

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

05/27/24

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Marsh

Ryusuke did it again!! Really enjoyed this film as much as I did Drive My Car. The story, tempo, and cinematography were great!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/26/24

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Pete D

Though the film had some great moments other moments mDe the the film feel disjointed and were shot oddly. I think there are some cultural contexts that perhaps that I don't understand.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/24/24

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Roy J

Very slow start, but drama gets intriguing. Nice to see some corporate employees having empathy for the villagers and not just being greedy evil people. These characters wouldn't have existed in an American set movie. I liked it, but not sure I understood the ending.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/22/24

Full Review

ALR

Absolutely terrible movie

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

05/19/24

Full Review

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Ryûsuke Hamaguchi

Director

Hitoshi Omika

Takumi

Ryo Nishikawa

Hana

Ryuji Kosaka

Takahashi

Ayaka Shibutani

Actor

Hazuki Kikuchi

Actor

Evil Does Not Exist: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

In the rural alpine hamlet of Mizubiki, not far from Tokyo, Takumi and his daughter, Hana, lead a modest life gathering water, wood, and wild wasabi for the local udon restaurant. Increasingly, the townsfolk become aware of a talent agency's plan to build an opulent glamping site nearby, offering city residents a comfortable "escape" to the snowy wilderness. When two company representatives arrive and ask for local guidance, Takumi becomes conflicted in his involvement, as it becomes clear that the project will have a pernicious impact on the community. Ryusuke Hamaguchi's follow up to his Academy Award®-winning DRIVE MY CAR is a foreboding fable on humanity's mysterious, mystical relationship with nature. As sinister gunshots echo from the forest, both the locals and representatives confront their life choices and the haunting consequences they have.

Director: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
Producer: Satoshi Takata
Screenwriter: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
Distributor: Sideshow / Janus Films
Production Co: Fictive , NEOPA
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): May 3, 2024, Limited
Box Office (Gross USA): $829.6K
Runtime: 1h 46m

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