Vital (Vitâru) is an early 2000 Japanese drama regarding death & grief with a decidedly ghoulish, at points downright unsettling centrally premise. It regards a man who is in a car crash- he loses his memory, as well as his girlfriend in the accident.  During his recovery he finds a grate full of medical books and decides to train as a doctor- he goes to medical school and ends up dissecting his girlfriend- who gave her body up to medical science.  The film blends downbeat emotional drama, moments of grim dissection, off-kilter/ violent romance, and hopefully fantasy- so a decidedly tonal unbalancing, but certainly thought-provoking film. Here from Third Widow Films is a recent Blu-Ray release of the film, taking in an archive commentary track, and a few other archive extras.

Vital is from the year 2004, and was directed by  Shibuya, Tokyo, born Shinya Tsukamoto.  He has twenty- two credits to his name- these move from cyberpunk/ body horror classic Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989), onto the off-kilter psychological horror of Gemini (1999). Though to nervous break down focused drama/ horror of Kotoko ( 2011), onto the troubling period drama/ mystery Shadow Of Fire (2023). 

The film focuses on the long-haired, glum, and initially un-communicative twentysomething Hiroshi Takagi(Tadanobu Asano). He’s recently been in a car accident and laid up in hospital- he has lost his memory- not even recognise his bearded father(Kazuyoshi Kushida) or his mother (Lily).

He’s moved back home to try & help with his memory loss, and he comes across a grate of medical books- we find out he had wanted to train as a doctor, so he decides to start doctor training at the local university. The university-based elements of the film are set in his dissection class. He and a team of ten or so students are given a body to carefully cut apart, and fairly soon he realizes it’s his dead girlfriend Ryôko (Nami Tsukamoto)

As the films unfold, Hiroshi goes to visit Ryôko's parents- who are initially less than pleased to see him, with her father played with wonderful emotional intensity by Jun Kunimura- who has 225 acting credits to his name, taking in the likes of Ichi The Killer & Kill Bill Vol 1. He also starts up a relationship with a troubled fellow female student, who enjoys rough & strangling-based romance- just like Ryôko.

The initial encounters in dissecting class are deeply troubling- as we see the cutting open of ribcages, pulling back flesh on arms, and front-on footage of opened-up cavities. With the body's heads/ faces disturbingly covered by tight white sacks.  When it’s discovered the body Hiroshi working on is Ryôko, we pan back from any close-up/full-on shots, though we still do get grim sawings/slicings.

We have moments of dreamy fantasy where Ryôko and Hiroshi meet on an afterlife beach- this adds moments of lightness/ hope to the mix. As well as the odd arty visual flourishes.  But largely the film is a grim affair, though it certainly is a thoughtful look at death, how to deal with it, and expectance. So Vital won’t be for everyone, but if you like your drama with a bleak/ ghoulish edge- it will appeal.

This recent Region B disc seemingly doesn’t have any new extras- but what we do get is interesting/ worthy. We have a commentary Japanese film expert from Tom Mes, who was on the set of the film- so along with his normal well-researched/ informative track, we get on-the-ground input.

Otherwise, we have An Assault On The Senses ( 16.29) a video essay from Asian film expert Jasper Sharp. He moves from talking about Shinya Tsukamoto's early short films onto his breakthrough film Tetsuo: The Iron Man, and beyond- talking about the themes & concepts in all of his work.
Interview with Shinya Tsukamoto (11.04) Special Effects Featurette(10.27) World Premiere at the Venice Film Festival( 10.46), making of, music clips, and a trailer.

Vital is a curious mix of the ghoulish, emotionally fraught,  and heartfelt. It’s certainly a calmer more controlled film than the director's early work, but it still features some jarring arty & troubling edges too. It’s good to see it getting a reissue on Third Window films, and while the archive extras are good- it would have been nice to have comments from both Mes & Sharp now.