Inju, the Beast in the Shadow
Barbet Schroeder’s elegant suspense thriller is based on a novel by the great Japanese crime writer Edogawa Rampo (a pen name that pays homage to his American forebear, Edgar Allan Poe). It is a tale of obsession—intellectual and erotic—pitting callow French novelist Alex Fayard against a diabolical Japanese mastermind. Fayard has become famous for writing in the style of the elusive Japanese writer Shundei Oe. When he’s invited to Kyoto on a book tour for his latest bestseller, he decides to provoke the secretive writer into coming out of seclusion. As the leading Western authority on Oe, Fayard is familiar with the violent and disturbing imagery in the master’s work, in which evil often triumphs. When Fayard becomes involved with Tamao, an enigmatic geisha whose traditional dance mesmerizes, he starts having strange dreams and encounters. While he tries to save Tamao from her former fiancé, Fayard finds himself drawn deeper and deeper into a deranged underworld. Gorgeously photographed, this stylized nightmare reveals the danger of interweaving fiction and reality. Director Barbet Schroeder expected to attend June 4 and June 5 screenings
Cast & Crew
Director: Barbet Schroeder
Producer: Saïd Ben Saïd, Vérane Frédiani, Franck Ribière
Editor: Luc Barnier
Screenwriter: Jean-Armand Bougrelle, Frédérique Henri, Barbet Schroeder
Cinematographer: Luciano Tovoli
Music: Jorge Arriagada
Principal Cast: Benoît Magimel, Lika Minamoto, Gen Shimaoka, Ryo Ishibashi, Shun Sugata
Filmography: Terror’s Advocate (2007); Murders by Numbers (2002); Our Lady of the Assassins (2000); Desperate Measures (1997); Before and After (1995); Kiss of Death (1994); Single with Female (1992); Reversal of Fortune (1990); Barfly (1987); Cheaters (1984); Koko, A Talking Gorilla (1977); Mistress (1975); General Idi Amin Dada (1974); The Valley (1972); More (1969)
World Sales: UGC International
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(2 reviews)
user reviews
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Inju, the Beast In the Shadow, Jun 05, 2009
By Alex Williams
“This typical erotic thriller starts well, looks sharp and has a neat setting (Japan), but the story is saddled with a bland protagonist who falls blindly into even the most obvious of traps. Unfortunately, as is often the case in this genre, viewers are asked to turn their brains off at about the”
… full review
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Hmmmmm, iiiiiiinteresting ..., Jun 06, 2009
By Mimi Noyes
“I had heard a number of conflicting reports upon this film, but most of them were positive and the trailer was intriguing, so I figured that I would check it out. I found it interesting and entertaining, but at times it seemed a bit obvious (though not completely so) and I found myself shaking my”
… full review
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