Legendary actor Tatsuya Nakadai visits Japan Society for a 50th anniversary screening of Hiroshi Teshigahara’s existential, horror-tinged masterpiece. The third of four film collaborations between director Teshigahara, composer Toru Takemitsu and writer Kobo Abe (who adapted his own best-selling novel for the screen), The Face of Another brilliantly examines themes of identity and alienation through the story of Okuyama, a young businessman who is fitted with a lifelike prosthetic mask after an industrial accident leaves him burned and disfigured. While the new face initially offers a sense of freedom, things take a dark turn as Okuyama becomes increasingly paranoid and erratic, suggesting the mask has taken on a chilling personality of its own.

After the screening, Nakadai will be joined on stage by Yukie Kamiya, Japan Society Gallery Director, for a unique conversation about the significance of masks and noh influences in The Face of Another and Nakadai’s long-spanning acting career. This event is presented in conjunction with the Japan Society Gallery exhibition Simon Starling: At Twilight (After W.B. Yeats’ Noh Reincarnation) (Oct. 14, 2016-Jan. 15, 2017), which explores the impact of noh on art in Western Modernism.
Tickets
$15/$12 Japan Society members
http://www.japansociety.org/event/the-face-of-another