Official selection
Busan International Film Festival 2021
Director
Shinzo Katayama
Writer
Kazuhisa Kotera, Ro Takada
Cast
Jirô Satô, Aoi Itô, Hiroya Shimizu
contact
Dark Star Pictures
Official website
Depressed and in debt following the death of his wife, Santoshi (Jiro Sato, FABLE) tells his young daughter he has found a way out. Pointing to the reward note, he vows to find infamous serial killer “No Name” (Hiroya Shimizu, TOKYO REVENGERS), claiming he saw the man in the flesh a few days earlier. Kaeda (Aoi Ito, BLANK) cannot believe her aloof, goofy father. But when he goes missing without a trace, she starts fearing the worst—and begins looking for him.
With its Neeson-esque title, and dark, potentially vengeful premise, Japan/South Korea coproduction MISSING sets expectations that it immediately subverts. Instead of going the expected route, director Shinzo Katayama (SIBLINGS OF THE CAPE) stays true to his unpredictable, indie roots and thrusts his audience in the midst of pitch-black thriller full of shocking twists, surprising shifts in perspective, and high moral stakes. First told from the surprising perspective of Kaeda, a child in a world of danger, MISSING soon evolves into a multifaceted tale about the scheming evil of men that leaves very few unscathed. Katayama’s sensibility is sardonic and confronting yet artful, and as a noted former assistant-director to Bong Joon-ho (on MOTHER and TOKYO!), his filmmaking shares the South Korean master’s propensity for excess, tonal shifts, and narratives that keep you on the edge of your seat. – Ariel Esteban Cayer
Showings
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