Vengeance Is Mine

The story spans prewar Japan through the postwar decades, tracing Enokizu's troubled childhood, wartime and prison years, and the later decades of urban Japan. It juxtaposes the rigidity of traditional authority with the rapid social changes of the 1950s and 1960s. The timeframe culminates in a late-20th-century meditation on crime and punishment.

The action shifts between bustling Tokyo and the academic atmosphere surrounding Kyoto, as Enokizu uses a university façade to mask his crimes. Key scenes unfold in a police station, a seedy inn, and Haru's neighborhood, showing Japan's urban variety. The settings reflect a society grappling with postwar upheaval, shifting social mores, and the tension between intellectual respectability and criminal deceit.

🎭 Deception

Enokizu repeatedly disguises himself as a respectable professor to manipulate others. The film treats identity as a performative weapon, enabling violence while preserving an aura of legitimacy. This theme explores how social roles can mask dangerous impulses. The narrative uses fragmentation to reveal the cost of living behind a mask.

🧠 Psychology

The killer's charm juxtaposes with cold calculation, inviting analysis of his mental state. Flashbacks reveal a childhood of violence and betrayal that foreshadow his later acts. The film probes how trauma and social conditioning shape a criminal personality. The audience is invited to understand, but not excuse, his actions.

💔 Relationships

Interwoven relationships reveal a cycle of desire, secrecy, and manipulation. Kazuko, Shizuo, and Enokizu entangle in a web that leads to tragedy, reflecting a broader critique of loyalty and fidelity. Haru's vulnerability and her mother's fragile safety become casualties of this moral maelstrom. The narrative shows how intimate ties can catalyze violence.

⚖️ Justice

The pursuit of Enokizu extends across years, culminating in his execution and cremation. The film questions whether punishment truly resolves guilt or merely ends one life. It presents justice as a social construct shaped by media attention, family dynamics, and institutional power. The ending offers a stark meditation on moral accountability.