Serpent‘s Path

In the organizer's words:

蛇の道
Hebi no michi

Director: KUROSAWA Kiyoshi
1997, 85 minutes, OmeU, 35 mm

Not suitable for viewers under the age of 18

This disturbing thriller takes a relentless look into the human psyche and tells the story of a man who goes in search of the murderer of his young daughter. In 2024, director Kurosawa himself made a remake of the film in French with Damian Bonnard and Shibasaki Kô in the leading roles.

Former gangster Miyashita is the father of an eight-year-old daughter who was kidnapped, raped and murdered. To get revenge, he decides to work with math teacher Nijima, who seems to be hiding a terrible secret from the past. The two men kidnap several suspects in an old factory, chain them up and blackmail their statements. After mutual recriminations and bitter fights, a terrible truth comes to light.

Film series
Turning Point
Japanese films from the 1990s

The decline of the studio system in the 1980s and the bursting of the speculative bubble at the beginning of the 1990s marked a turning point in the Japanese film industry. A generation of directors emerged who created independent productions with great creativity and small budgets, giving the film landscape an exciting new impetus. The series shows eight titles that impressively express this change.

It opens with a tragicomedy by Sai Yôichi about the lives of social minorities(Tsuki wa dotchi ni dete iru), followed by the story of the (sexual) relationship between two runners by Hiroki Ryûichi(800 Two Lap Runners). Suwa Nobuhiro, on the other hand, paints a multi-layered portrait of a young couple(2/Dyuo) and Kurosawa Kiyoshi, the master of thrillers and horror films, provides deep insights into the abysses of the human psyche(Hebi no michi; Karisuma). In a mixture of tragedy and comedy, Sabu tells the story of an unsuspecting letter carrier(Posutoman burûsu), while Kawase Naomi focuses on the problems of a family in a rural region(Moe no Suzaku). Finally, Miike Takashi is represented with a yakuza film full of absurdities(Dead or Alive: Hanzaisha).

The film series takes place in cooperation with the Nippon Connection film festival in Frankfurt (27.05. - 01.06.2025). Further information can be found at https://nipponconnection.com/

Price information:

Admission free