Director: Shinji Aoyama
"I did not want to make this a story about conflict between people, but between people and nature. We don't have the power to change the landscape that surrounds us—it can be likened to destiny. People can see in nature their own sadness and pain, but of course, there is no emotion there at all. We're merely seeing what we want to see." Shinji Aoyama
Eureka is a long but involving Japanese film about survival, redemption and the way that three survivors of a tragedy work though their pain.
The film starts with a bus highjacking, which leaves all but three people dead; the busdriver and two a young brother and sister. After the prologue the film skips ahead two years. The bus driver, Makoto, (Koji Yakusho) returns from traveling around Japan and he tries to settle back into life with his family.
Meanwhile the brother and sister - who have been tramatized into silence - live alone since their mother left and thier father died in a car crash. They live in a large mansion on the outskirts of town and have become reclusive. Makoto has a tough time settling into a regular life so he goes to the mansion to take care of the brother and sister.
In time he becomes their guardian. Then reports come out that there is a murderer in town and the police inspector suspects Makoto. He can prove nothing so Makoto, in attempting to work through his troubles buys a van and takes the kids on a road trip.
The film is shot in black & white CinemaScope but printed on color stock giving the film a sepia tone quality and lending the characters a certain luminosity. There are no jolts or action set pieces instead the film is paced slowly to the rhythym of life.
In some ways the pacing feels just right. Aoyama is more interested in the effect of violence rather than on violence itself.
Aoyama too has a good eye for framing: in one scene the camera is set low by a river and a woman's shoe floats slowly downstream until it stops on a tuft of weeds. The shot is powerful because it reveals that the woman from the previous scene has been killed. We don't see anything shocking yet we know what has happened.
The film is long at 3 hours 30 minutes and once they are on the road trip the film feels stretched a bit too long. But that's only because by that time there is no mystery left. We are witnesses to their recovery and if we choose to stay and watch it's only because the characters have engaged us enough so that we care about them even if we don't know everything.
- Matt Langdon