TIFF 2023: Evil Does Not Exist Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

As climate change and industrialization have affected the planet in numerous ways, conservation has never been more important. When it comes to Evil Does Not Exist, questionable title aside, is a film that has its heart in the right place but where it ultimately falters is within its execution. A mess of messages, it suffers from a slow start and a lackluster finish. While it has its fair share of funny and endearing moments, it is less successful as a whole. It’s either about a man and his relationship with his daughter, his town, and nature, he and that town coming together against a comically-inept talent agency looking to take advantage of their land, and/or one that plays that contrast between both sides to make some unsubtle commentary. Though it nails bits and pieces of all of those, the film never truly comes together in enough of a satisfying way. That being said, its performances are all solid, led by the charm of Hitoshi Omika, and it looks beautiful, shot primarily outside in the Japanese wilderness.

The centerpiece of Evil Does Not Exist is Takumi (Omika), a prominent man known across his small town just outside of Tokyo for the odd jobs he performed across his community. Living with 8-year-old daughter Hana (Ryô Nishikawa), he instilled in her a love and an appreciation for nature and all its bounty. Mostly untouched by large scale development, that fact would soon change upon the news of a proposed glamping site to be built near Takumi’s house. Suffice it to say that the news was not well-received by the rest of his community who had their own valid concerns. However, it was clear that the agency behind the project were not concerned about whatever the townspeople thought about it by sending two unprepared representatives to lead a presentation which was essentially a formality. From there, the story takes an interesting turn as it shows both sides of the debate by humanizing those aforementioned representatives. Coming from different walks of life, they are given strong arcs where that divide slowly narrows. In the end, the story just never comes together. 

In spite of a slow start, the best part of Evil Does Not Exist is the writing and performances but audiences just need to be a little patient. Ultimately, the film works best as an ensemble piece as the sense of camaraderie amongst the townspeople makes for a fun dynamic for which it did not tap into nearly enough. The scene where they confront those agency representatives is easily the highlight and that dynamic plays out in lesser ways across a few more moments. Meanwhile, the charisma of Omika should not be discounted either.

Evil Does Not Exist, again, has its heart in the right place but never comes together. What truly matters is whether or not audiences connect with what it stands for. 

*still courtesy of TIFF*

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.