The concept of “bullying the bully” has been one that has been repeatedly explored in Japanese cinema with films like “Confessions” and “Liverleaf” being the first that come to mind. Mayu Nakamura, however, takes it to a whole new level, as this time, we have a story of ‘scamming the scammer’, which goes much further than one could have imagined.
“Intimate Stranger” is screening at Helsinki Cine Aasia
Yuji is a young phone-scam artist, who, under the instructions of Kenichi, is tricking old ladies out of their money, pretending to be their grandson, sick with Covid and in need of hospital fees, who are to be picked up by a friend. Of course, the friend is Yuji himself. During one of his “endeavors”, he stumbles upon Megumi, a middle-aged woman who is in search of her missing teenage son. Yuji claims that he has information about him, and gradually strips her of more and more money for the information he gives her. The more they meet, however, the more a strange kind of intimacy starts forming, which eventually leads Yuji to stay a night in Megumi’s apartment, and even more surprisingly, to start living there permanently. Soon, Megumi starts treating him like he is her son, and the two evenbegin revealing things about their past traumas. Kenichi, however, is not ready to let his “pupil” go away.
Implementing a rather slow-burning approach, Mayu Nakamura directs a film that shows the extremes people can reach in their search for connection and intimacy, as much as how the past shapes the future of both parents and children. At the same time, the whole narrative is surrounded by a sense of eeriness and mystery, occasionally bordering on the noir, with the interactions between the two protagonists and the way they evolve being the main medium of this element.
At the same time, though, the way Yuji ends up staying in Megumi’s house is still uncanny in many ways, but also highlights the fact that Megumi might be the one with the more secrets after all, as her overall demeanor becomes less and less that of a scam victim. This element also results in a constant sense of danger permeating the narrative, which initially seems to come from Kenichi, but soon changes its source, as the movie gradually, and masterfully, turns into a horror thriller of a style that points towards “Audition”. That Nakamura highlights the change, not with abrupt and brief shocking scenes as Miike does, but gradually, emerges as one of the best parts of her direction, with scenes like the haircut one highlighting the fact to the best degree.
In that fashion, Asuka Kurosawa (some might remember her from “Snake of June”, “Cold Fish” and “MPD Psycho”) as Megumi gives a performance that is both mesmerizing and chilling, with her slow and gradual transformation being another of the movie’s best traits. The same applies to Fuju Kamio as Yuji, whose transformation and being “broken open” follows an opposite direction. Their chemistry is also excellent, while the presence of Shogen as Kenichi adds another notch of quality, with him being quite convincing as the “villain” of the story, although in a secondary role.
Tomohiko Tsuji’s desaturated cinematography results in visuals that look very close to black-and-white in a kind of polished way, in a style that actually fits the overall aesthetics to perfection, adding to the overall sense of eeriness the whole production emits. The editing results in a very slow, meticulous pace, which does not end up being tiring, however, since, at 95 minutes, the movie does not overextend its welcome in any way.
“Intimate Stranger” is a great art-house horror/thriller, which will apply particularly to those who like their movies being disturbing.
