| Koji Yakusho, Jun Fubuki, Ittoku Kishibe,
Hikari Ishida.
The Sixth Sense and A Simple Plan by way of Martin Heidegger, this
genre-bending thriller is directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Katsuhiko
(Koji Yakusho) is a mild-mannered sound-technician who is married
to Junco (Jun Fubuki). While at first glance Junco seems to be an
average hausfrau, she possesses great clairvoyant powers. Though
she has slowly and quietly built a reputation as a medium, she proves
to be completely incapable of working in a normal service industry
job; she has the unfortunately tendency of being able to see the
crimes of her patrons. Katsuhiko is aware of her unusual abilities
but prefers to think of her as "normal." Young psychology
graduate student Hayakawa (Teuyoshi Kusanagi) invites Junco to join
his study on the paranormal. At the same time, the police are desperately
searching for a young girl who was kidnapped by an ex-cop turned
pervert. At Hayakawa's behest, the cops consult with Junco as to
the child's whereabouts. Ironically enough, the girl escapes her
captor and takes refuge in Katsuhiko's equipment case while he records
sounds in the mountains. The next day, Junco's psychic sonar goes
off and she discovers the missing child in their garage. This freak
happenstance awakens a long-dormant ambition in Junco: convinced
that her discovery was not a striking enough find, she hatches an
ill-conceived scheme to make it seem more dramatic. While Katsuhiko
tends to the unconscious girl, Junco scatters clues throughout the
western suburbs of Tokyo and then informs the police of her psychic
"insights." As the film progresses, their plan goes awry
and the child meets a bad end. Junco's abilities boomerang on her,
and soon she and Katsuhiko are haunted by the ghost of the girl.
Noted stars Yukari Ishida and Show Aikawa make cameos. This film
was screened at the 2000 Toronto Film Festival. |