I might have given it a higher rating had the film admitted its own hollowness. When this film tried to dress itself as something deep things start to get worse. All the life philosophies preached by it via 'the reel' is nothing more than mere commonsense, and far-stretching to the theme story, to say the least.<br /><br />During the viewing I wished that the director had bothered to show us what exactly the main character spoke to his eel when they two communicate, because the eel seems the only connect he had and mean a lot to him. Then we might be able to understand the main character a bit better, and understand the tie between him and his eel better. However, the one and only time we see this is: the main character crouched by the side of the glass tank and asked the eel with a tender voice, with his face full of concern and with the presence of a neighbour, "Do you like it here?" The whole scene is so absurd and out of place that it hurts.<br /><br />What bothered me most is the attitude of the main character towards his crime. It is so important that it forms the foundation of the entire film. Therefore a weak and blurred conception will undermine everything. But again the director hauled us a muddled mess.<br /><br />Now it is left to ourselves, we seemingly have two options to work with. First, he repented his murder. Then what we see basically from the film is how a man's murdering of a woman is redeemed by accidentally saving another woman's life. Due to the fact that everything about the saved woman happened totally independent of the main character (Not much happened in the film actually, mind you), and no sacrifice or endeavour of any form is required from him, the redemption seems cheap and convenient to the viewer.<br /><br />Then if we come to the second conclusion that he never repented, we are then facing a more intimidating mentality. Why does the main character deserve the 'happiness' by the end of the film? Had the main character really killed his wife out of hallucination? Is the director hinting on the impending of another tragedy? The undertone of the film will then be entirely altered. But the ending of the film, where the saved woman watches smilingly and peacefully the car driving away in the warm dusk after handing over the lunch bag, is blatant enough to overthrow this consumption. On the other hand, if it is the conviction of the director that the merciless crime committed by the main character is forgivable after only 8 years prison, he does not give enough clue to justify it. We never get a chance to hear the murdered wife's self-dependence in front of the appending kitchen knife. From the very little information we get about the murdered wife, she seems, if not faithful (that is, if the adultery DID happen), at least a caring and competent housewife and there hasn't been any serious confliction between her and the main character.<br /><br />If the stoic personality of the main character, though forgettable and one dimensional, can manage to make sense, all other characters in the film verge from bizarreness to insanity. Many, especially the mad mother, should be left out for good. No one can simply stands for logic. For example, the saved woman. What caused the transformation from her being desperate and suicidal before to suddenly optimistic and strong in action after? How come she, as a daughter of a rich family, has experience of working in a barbershop? And most importantly, what aroused her affection towards the main character, besides the fact that he spotted her body and called the police, therefore indirectly saved her life? If the binding up of the cut finger can be looked upon as a sort of set up for this plot development, then it comes as abrupt and trite as all other plot developments in this film. The concern from the distant main character over that cut finger feels sudden and out of nowhere. Did the director forget that his character is determined to shut himself in and keep distance from everyone else, especially woman?<br /><br />All puzzles, no satisfactory answers given...... Maybe the biggest puzzle is how on earth did this garbage win in Cannes that year? This is not a satisfactory film. This film failed in almost every aspect, like most of other contemporary Japanese films.