The face is the door to the soul.
This film is riddled with deep instances of philosophy that question the boundaries of how humans think and feel. A man disfigured from an awful accident begins to talk with his psychiatrist and comes up with the idea to create a new face (as he cannot come to terms with how he is treated with his destroyed face). This new face will supposedly give him new life; a new way to reintegrate into society or... is that really his main intention? Once they come up with a successful donor and transplant, the doctor eventually warns him that if left on for too long the face will take over his old personality. Leading us to the all-time question: Which is worse? To suffer the physical pain of a burned face, or, to suffer the emotional turmoil of low self-worth? Overall, an incredible horror film that takes identity loss head-on.
Some amazing scenes of note: the doctor's lab seemingly engulfed in something that resembles a head of hair, the intro to the film the main character watches, body parts getting thrown into a vat of water, a theatrically lit drinking scene at the bar, the face transformation, and finally, the walk on the street into the crowd of faceless people. Teshigahara stands out once again as a master of his craft.
I could see this one improving on a rewatch as there is so much philosophy dealt with here, one can be easily set back reading all the subtitles and paying attention to the plot because you're still thinking about the questions or ideas the characters are spewing forth.
This film is riddled with deep instances of philosophy that question the boundaries of how humans think and feel. A man disfigured from an awful accident begins to talk with his psychiatrist and comes up with the idea to create a new face (as he cannot come to terms with how he is treated with his destroyed face). This new face will supposedly give him new life; a new way to reintegrate into society or... is that really his main intention? Once they come up with a successful donor and transplant, the doctor eventually warns him that if left on for too long the face will take over his old personality. Leading us to the all-time question: Which is worse? To suffer the physical pain of a burned face, or, to suffer the emotional turmoil of low self-worth? Overall, an incredible horror film that takes identity loss head-on.
Some amazing scenes of note: the doctor's lab seemingly engulfed in something that resembles a head of hair, the intro to the film the main character watches, body parts getting thrown into a vat of water, a theatrically lit drinking scene at the bar, the face transformation, and finally, the walk on the street into the crowd of faceless people. Teshigahara stands out once again as a master of his craft.
I could see this one improving on a rewatch as there is so much philosophy dealt with here, one can be easily set back reading all the subtitles and paying attention to the plot because you're still thinking about the questions or ideas the characters are spewing forth.