1966 | Japan | Fiction

The Face of Another

  • Japanese English 124 mins
  • Director | Hiroshi Teshigahara
  • Writer | Kôbô Abe
  • Producer | Nobuyo Horiba, Kiichi Ichikawa, Tadashi Ôno

STATUS: Released

This film is currently not available.   

A staggering work of existential science fiction, The Face of Another dissects identity with the sure hand of a surgeon. Okuyama (Yojimbo's Tatsuya Nakadai), after being burned and disfigured in an industrial accident and estranged from his family and friends, agrees to his psychiatrist's radical experiment: a face transplant, created from the mold of a stranger. As Okuyama is thus further alienated from the world around him, he finds himself giving in to his darker temptations. With unforgettable imagery, Teshigahara's film explores both the limits and freedom in acquiring a new persona, and questions the notion of individuality itself.

Identity Alienation Deception Obsession Isolation
Film Organizations
The Criterion Collection
DISTRIBUTION