Source: Third Window Films Special Thanks to Adam Torel
This summer, two works by director Kiyoshi Kurosawa (CURE, PULSE, TOKYO SONATA) will be released as a double-disc DVD set in the United Kingdom from distributor Third Window Films. When oddball auteur Kiyoshi Kurosawa received an eccentric offer to make two films in two weeks, on a low budget and using the same cast, the result was the cinematic equivalent of fraternal twins. Though both EYES OF THE SPIDER (????, Kumo no Hitomi, 1998) and SERPENT`S PATH (???, Hebi no Michi, 1998) are gangster films about the desire for revenge, and both films feature a protagonist named Nijima played convincingly by Sho Aikawa, the two films are completely different in tone and plot. Nonetheless, they seem freakishly interlocked in ways that defy the conventionally linear relationship of a sequel, as each of these enigmatic, absorbing films elucidates and alters our understanding of the other. EYES OF THE SPIDER concerns Nijima (Sho Aikawa), a white-collar worker who one day finds the man responsible for his young daughter`s brutal rape and murder. He tortures and interrogates the man, who maintains his innocence, before killing and burying him. He returns to his ordinary life feeling listless and hollow, until he meets an old high school friend who introduces him to his hapless band of hired killers. His skill in the assassination business catches the attention of a bigger crime boss. For reasons that remain opaque, Nijima is assigned to investigate his friend, which ultimately results in a bloody confrontation. SERPENT`S PATH tells the tale of Tatsuo Miyashita (Teruyuki Kagawa), a former low level yakuza has tracked down his child`s killer with help of his friend Naomi Nijima (Sho Aikawa) whom he met a year before. They`ve kidnapped a yakuza member believed responsible for the killing to take out revenge. But vengeance is neither simple or easy. Another person is soon implicated in the child`s death leading the pair farther down a path of revenge and violence. And what darker secret has led Nijima, a lowly professor, to help Miyashita in this affair? CREDITS Cast: Sho Aikawa, Teruyuki Kagawa, Hua Rong Weng Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa Writer: Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Hiroshi Takahashi Producer: Tetsuya Ikeda, Atsuyuki Shimoda, Tsutomu Tsuchikawa Cinematography: Masaki Tamura SPECS DVD: Region 2, PAL Release: Summer 2013 Rating: 18 Genre: Thriller Running Time: 168 minutes
About Third Window Films
The Third Window Films brand was born in 2005 when its film-loving founders grew bored of the stream of worn-out shock horror vehicles from the Far East. Third Window Films works hard to bring you the wonderful world beyond long-haired ghost films and mindless Hollywood action copies, sourcing the finest works in new Far Eastern cinema. We strive to represent a rich variety of film genres, be they dramas, comedies, political satires, action or anything else in between. Expect everything from the unknown and cult to the off-beat and even the occasional mainstream masterpiece... or expect nothing but quality Asian cinema! Let Third Window Films be your window to the East!