The Face of Another made quite an impression on me. I'd call it a very intriguing David Lynch production avant la lettre, filled with thought-provoking philosophies and allegories surrounding the mask that is given to the facially disfigured main character.
There's so much delicious surrealism in The Face of Another, depicted in beautiful black and white cinematography that's larded with original, imaginative touches, such as the freeze-frame shots, and a scene where two characters are talking in a bar while all the surrounding people are becoming completely unlit.
I also loved the sad fairy-tale like secondary story with the facially disfigured girl that was weaved through the main plot.
I strongly had the impression that The Face of Another was a reference to the then relatively recent (nuclear) war tragedies, where lots of lives were turned upside down because of mutilations.
Tatsuya Nakadai is perfectly cast as the main character, with his melancholic, hypnotic eyes, and the scenes with the faceless crowd gave me a tidal wave of goosebumps.
There's so much delicious surrealism in The Face of Another, depicted in beautiful black and white cinematography that's larded with original, imaginative touches, such as the freeze-frame shots, and a scene where two characters are talking in a bar while all the surrounding people are becoming completely unlit.
I also loved the sad fairy-tale like secondary story with the facially disfigured girl that was weaved through the main plot.
I strongly had the impression that The Face of Another was a reference to the then relatively recent (nuclear) war tragedies, where lots of lives were turned upside down because of mutilations.
Tatsuya Nakadai is perfectly cast as the main character, with his melancholic, hypnotic eyes, and the scenes with the faceless crowd gave me a tidal wave of goosebumps.