Evil Does Not Exist

Takumi and his daughter Hana live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. Like generations before them, they live a modest life according to the cycles and order of nature. One day, the village inhabitants become aware of a plan to build a glamping site near Takumi’s house; offering city residents a comfortable ‘escape’ to nature. When two company representatives from Tokyo arrive in the village to hold a meeting, it becomes clear that the project will have a negative impact on the local water supply, causing unrest. The agency’s mismatched intentions endanger both the ecological balance of the nature plateau and their way of life, with an aftermath that affects Takumi’s life.

Director Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s highly-anticipated follow-up to the Oscar-winning Drive My Car about the clash between urban and nature offers no easy answers and will make audiences rethink the validity of the film’s title. This slow and penetrating cinema has received the Grand Jury Prize and FIPRESCI Prize at the Venice International Film Festival and was crowned Best Film at the London Film Festival.