Serpent’s Path – 4K Restoration

『蛇の道』
Hebi No Michi

North American Premiere of 4K Restoration. Given the chance to shoot two films back-to-back within the same two-week span, Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s 1998 V-Cinema production, along with its sister film Eyes of the Spider, hinges on the same premise: a man seeking revenge for the murder of his child. With a detached, observational style, Kurosawa relays the grim chain-of-events with muted horror as Miyashita (Teruyuki Kagawa) and his calculating friend Nijima methodically kidnap and torture a yakuza thought to be involved in the brutal killing of his young daughter. The blind search for vengeance leads them down a convoluted path, ravaging through a string of connected associates. Operating on a low budget, Kurosawa’s taut psychological thriller plumbs the depths of this fanatical obsession, resigning to a goal which becomes ever more obscure.

Dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 1998, 85 min, DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Sho Aikawa, Teruyuki Kagawa, Yurei Yanagi.

Part of JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film 2025
July 10—20, 2025

JAPAN CUTS is the largest showcase of contemporary Japanese cinema in North America and an annual highlight of New York’s cinema scene.

---

Image: © KADOKAWA 1998

JAPAN CUTS 2025 is powered by GU.

JAPAN CUTS is sponsored by the Globus Family. Reception speakers are donated by BALMUDA. Transportation assistance is provided by Japan Airlines, the official Japanese airline sponsor of Japan Society Film Program. Housing assistance is provided by the Prince Kitano New York, the official hotel sponsor of Japan Society Film Program.

Additional support is provided by Sendon and BuyJapon; Kinokuniya Bookstore; Japan Village; and Sunrise Mart.

Japan Society’s 120th anniversary initiatives and related programs are generously supported by Champion Sponsor, MUFG Bank, Ltd.; Advocate Sponsor, Mizuho Americas; and Friend Sponsor, Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas).

Japan Society programs are supported by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Film programs are generously supported by ORIX Corporation USA, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Anime NYC and Yen Press. Endowment support is provided by the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund and The John and Miyoko Davey Endowment Fund. Additional season support is provided by The Globus Family, George P. Hirose, David Toberisky, Joseph Rajaratnam and Dharshini Iolanthe Sivakumaran, and other Film Supporters.