Ostensibly Imamura's first work in documentary features, A Man Vanishes is much more, heralding the future work of Kazuo Hara and Werner Herzog, amongst others, in the genre-defying mix of style and loose adherence to filmic "reality." Imamura follows one case of a growing phenomenon of working Japanese men who, sent to other cities while their families are left behind, disappear completely. The film concerns Yoshie Hayakawa, whose fianc�e vanishes from sight, leaving behind only shadowy evidence of his past, casting darkness over Hayakawa's relationship with her sister, her fianc�e�s family, and even the investigator, who himself may not be what he seems to be. An exceedingly radical film in scope, technique, and aesthetic, Imamura's film is in many ways a distillation of his many themes and obsessions as well as an implosion of them, casting off into the various orbits he would travel later.

Starring:

Shigeru Tsuyuguchi

Genre:

Documentary, Drama, Mystery