Description
Title: Serpent’s Path (1998)
Alternate Title: Hebi no Michi
Genre: Crime Thriller
Plot Synopsis
A grieving former low‑level yakuza joins forces with a quiet schoolteacher to hunt down their daughter’s killer by kidnapping and interrogating suspects in a deserted warehouse. As they chain, threaten, and emotionally manipulate captives for information, the cycle of accusations and vengeance spirals ever deeper—blurring the line between justice and brutal obsession while revealing the hollowness of their moral certainties.
Cast and Crew
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Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
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Writers: Hiroshi Takahashi
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Cast:
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Shō Aikawa as Nijima
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Teruyuki Kagawa as Miyashita
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Yûrei Yanagi as Otsuki
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Shirō Shimomoto as Hiyama
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Kaiei Okina as Ariga
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YouTube Trailer: Serpent’s Path | Trailer
IMDb Link: Serpent’s Path 1998
Reviews from Letterboxd
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Jude – ★★★★☆
“Something very unsettling about the way the camera bobs up and down in those shots of the road unfolding. Can’t say I find this film’s slice of nihilism as interesting or investigative as the darkness in other Kurosawa pictures but this is still undoubtedly working its ass off to convince me. Some of his best long takes and one of his scariest cuts.” -
’eevenice – ★★★½☆
“yea ts was horrifying” -
cameron fetter – ★★★★☆
“kiyoshi kurosawa is the king of bad vibes and scary walls. what an insanely good and nasty ending. teruyuki kagawa you are a certified creeper.” -
Avalyn Wu – ★★★★☆
“Definitely prefer this to the remake, mostly because it’s leaner and more localized, making the central conspiracy feel more grounded and less like an act of smoke and mirrors. The main location being larger also gives Kurosawa greater room to play around with his mise en scène. Those high angle shots are particularly wonderful. Arguably the cruelest Kurosawa film I’ve seen thus far. There’s a certain pleasure taken in the process of revenge, though unlike his characters Kurosawa is an actual professional at inflicting terror. His usual trademarks of spontaneous handheld shots, surprise cuts and dead silence are weaponized to great effect. I’m still unsure how to relate this to the film’s obvious concern about images of violence and the institutional forces that make the distribution of such images possible, but the connection is undeniably there.” -
Curtis Tsui – ★★★★☆
“Been decades since I first saw this. Confirming it’s far superior to the remake. Even if the latter cribs many of the exact same shot ideas and situations, the original is just leaner (and meaner) and more confident.”
Meta Description:
A bleak and uncompromising Japanese crime thriller from Kiyoshi Kurosawa exploring the escalating spiral of vengeance through minimalism, chilling visuals, and a relentless atmosphere.
Title: Serpent’s Path (2024)
Genre: Thriller / Crime
Plot Synopsis
A grieving father enlists a Japanese psychiatrist in France to pursue members of an organ trafficking syndicate responsible for his daughter’s death. Through abductions and escalating violence, they unravel a ruthless conspiracy known as The Circle. Obsession, vengeance, and psychological devastation intertwine as each torturous revelation intensifies the cycle of trauma.
Cast and Crew
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Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
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Writers: Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Aurélien Ferenczi
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Cast:
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Damien Bonnard as Albert Bacheret
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Ko Shibasaki as Sayoko Mijima
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Mathieu Amalric as Laval
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Grégoire Colin as Pierre Guérin
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Hidetoshi Nishijima as Yoshimura
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YouTube Trailer: Serpent’s Path | Trailer
IMDb Link: Serpent’s Path (2024)
Reviews from Letterboxd
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CalvinLaw – ★★★★☆
“Little weighed down by a few convoluted turns, but Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s deft dark humour and nauseating, growing discomfort with the overwhelming absurdity and horror of this revenge plot we and Albert get lost in, makes for a captivating watch. Ko Shibasaki’s eyes, Jesus Christ.” -
Jack Patron – ★★★½☆
“Third banger of the year from my guy Kurosawa that is quite a fascinating evolution of his own 1998 work. Much more relentless in its cyclical violence and psychological torment—a paranoiac dishing out torture and abasement in a dingy warehouse feels more chilling than ever. It’s not the pointless self-remake I initially perceived it to be, exceeding the original in all respects. 2024 an all‑timer year for Kurosawa.” -
Brian – ★★★☆☆
“I haven’t yet seen the original, so I can only speak about this on its own terms. I basically felt the same about it as I have about every other recent Kurosawa (Chime, Cloud, etc.): formally impeccable, but thematically something of a regression from his great masterpieces. Like those films, I was intrigued by the set‑up, and largely disappointed by its lack of evolution. The sinuous narrative complexity belies a deeply simplistic tale of revenge that, despite its studied distance, demonstrates the libidinal pleasure in violence it textually tries to disavow. The warehouse scene really does feel like a waking nightmare. He remains a major filmmaker. I just wish he were putting his talents toward more developed conceits rather than merely mobilizing them for base affect.”
Meta Description:
A haunting thriller from Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Serpent’s Path (2024) blends psychological vengeance and brutal suspense in a French-language remake that explores grief, violence, and conspiracy with chilling intensity.
