Haishi
1984 / 105m - Japan
Drama
2.5*/5.0*
The Deserted City poster

Watches

January 30, 2021

2.5*/5.0*

A surprisingly straightforward drama from Ôbayashi, set in Yanagawa (Japan's famous canal city - its demise was also captured in a documentary by Isao Takahata a few years later). While Ôbayashi tries to add some mystery and intrigue, it doesn't really stick and the result is a bit too cheesy for its own good.

Eguchi thinks back of the time he spent writing his thesis in Yanagawa. At the time he lived in with the Kaibara household. When he hears the sound of tears at night, he goes out to investigate and becomes part of the drama that tears the family apart. The rest of the city is in pretty bad shape too.

Performances are decent, but the intrigue simply doesn't work. Ôbayashi's style isn't very suited for serious films and when he tries to get poetic it just comes off silly. There are moments where his talent shines through and its certainly not a terrible film, just not on the same level as his other work.