The Face of Another
A scarred Japanese businessman adopts an artificial face, only to discover that a new appearance cannot repair a fractured self or a hostile society.
Overview
A haunting exploration of identity and the masks we wear in society.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- eerie
- cerebral
- alienated
- arthouse film night
- japanese cinema marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly recognize the film’s brilliant exploration of identity, potent performances, and striking imagery, while some fault its fanciful premise and bland characterization.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Okuyama’s lifelike mask appears to influence his behavior after he uses it to approach his wife and society.
Both Okuyama and the scarred young woman are defined and isolated by other people’s gaze, insults, and rejection.
The laboratory treatment, artificial face, black-and-white photography, and otherworldly sets externalize the characters’ fractured identities.
The scarred girl’s story appears in intermittent passages that echo and complicate Okuyama’s transformation.
Films like The Face of Another, and why
The Woman in the Dunes
experimental identity crisis, surreal science fiction, and psychological alienation
Alphaville
black-and-white modernist imagery, unstable identity, and philosophical science fiction
The Fly
body transformation, social estrangement, and disturbing identity themes
Pastoral: To Die in the Country
avant-garde Japanese cinema, fractured selfhood, and formal experimentation
Movie Details
- Director
- Hiroshi Teshigahara
- Release Date
- 1966-07-15
- Runtime
- 122 min
- Rating
- 7.8 / 10 (297)
Cast
- Tatsuya Nakadai
- Mikijiro Hira
- Machiko Kyō
- Kyôko Kishida
- Eiji Okada
- Miki Irie
- Kakuya Saeki
- Minoru Chiaki
- Etsuko Ichihara
- Hisashi Igawa
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Criterion Channel
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Face of Another about?
- A scarred Japanese businessman adopts an artificial face, only to discover that a new appearance cannot repair a fractured self or a hostile society.
- What is The Face of Another like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Face of Another as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Face of Another violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Face of Another as mild.
- What did critics think of The Face of Another?
- Critics broadly recognize the film’s brilliant exploration of identity, potent performances, and striking imagery, while some fault its fanciful premise and bland characterization.
- Which films are like The Face of Another?
- Films with a similar feel include The Woman in the Dunes, Alphaville, The Fly, and Pastoral: To Die in the Country.
- How long is The Face of Another?
- The Face of Another runs 122 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Face of Another?
- In United States, The Face of Another streams on Criterion Channel.
