Evil Does Not Exist

Hamaguchi's latest is another decent film. I'm still unsure of why he became the token Japanese drama director of our times, but here we are. Evil Does Not Exist is another slow-moving drama, with a rural twist. It's pretty basic drama fare, with an archetypical arthouse ending tacked on.

A small rural community is going about its business when it hears that a glamping site is opening very close by. They go to a meeting where two representatives unveil the plans to them. The meeting doesn't go quite as planned and the representatives return soon after to present a new proposition.

The pacing is very slow but deliberate. Hamaguchi takes his time, with many scenes playing out in real-time, aptly setting the mood. I'm a bit surprised about the setup (quite a few contemporary Japanese dramas deal with withering local communities, Hamaguchi's take appears to be the opposite), it's also a bit too generic for my taste. The ending does add some intrigue, but not enough to make this a great film. A perfectly serviceable movie though, just a bit overhyped because of the name attached to it.