The Eel
A businessman kills his adulterous wife and is sent to prison. After his release, he opens a barbershop and meets new people, talking to almost no one except for an eel he befriended while in prison.
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Your review
Cast
31 people
Koji Yakusho
Takuro Yamashita
Known for
Perfect Days
The Boy and the Beast
Teresa Saponangelo
Misa Shimizu
Keiko Hattori
Known for
Warm Water Under a Red Bridge
Akira Emoto
Tamotsu Takasaki
Known for
Rental Family
Hanzawa Naoki
Fujio Tokita
Jiro Nakajima
Known for
Castle in the Sky
The Ballad of Narayama
Mitsuko Baisho
Misako Nakajima
Known for
Dreams
Hanzawa Naoki
Show Aikawa
Yuji Nozawa
Known for
Gozu
Dead or Alive 2: Birds
Ken Kobayashi
Masaki Saito
Also in
Taxi Driver's Mystery Diary 37 - Mystery of Double Homicides from Tokyo to Hamamatsu
47 Ronin
Sabu Kawahara
Seitaro Misato
Known for
A Scene at the Sea
Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale - Part 1: The Sun Flag
Etsuko Ichihara
Fumie Hattori
Known for
Your Name.
Sweet Bean
Tomorowo Taguchi
Eiji Dojima
Known for
Tetsuo: The Iron Man
House of Ninjas
Chiho Terada
Emiko Yamashita
Also in
Gigolo
Dokurogeki: atoaji no warui sasupensu
Shōhei Imamura Director · Daisuke Tengan Screenplay Motofumi Tomikawa Screenplay
Worldwide gross $5.2M · First release May 12, 1997 · Produced in Japan
Box office
Worldwide gross
$5,151,326
Production
Eisei Gekijo
Production
Groove Corporation
Production
Imamura Productions
Production
Shochiku
Production
KSS
Production
Japan
Produced in
Languages
Original title
うなぎ
Original language
Japanese
Spoken on screen
Japanese
Release dates
France · May 12, 1997
Theatrical
Japan · May 24, 1997
Theatrical
No release date listed for United States.
Czechia
January 27, 2013 · Premiere · Eiga-Sai Film Festival
France
May 12, 1999 · TV · Canal +
February 17, 2003 · TV · ARTE (Kinociné)
Netherlands
March 19, 1998 · Theatrical
June 27, 2011 · Physical · DVD
Russia
October 9, 2010 · Theatrical · Ретроспектива фильмов Сёхэя Имамуры в Москве
South Korea
May 1, 1999 · Theatrical
October 2, 2024 · Theatrical · Re-release
Thailand
September 25, 2026 · Premiere · Bangkok International Film Festival
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Some details come from TheTVDB.