Disturbing Dream-Like Drama ‘Teki Cometh’ Dominates Tokyo Festival Prize List

variety.com:

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief In a stunning sweep of the main awards, Japanese drama “Teki Cometh” snared three top prizes at the closing night ceremony of the Tokyo International Film Festival on Wednesday.

The film was named as the Tokyo Grand Prize, or best film, winner. Its helmer Yoshida Daihachi was named best director. Veteran lead performer Nagatsuka Kyozo was also named best actor. “Teki Cometh” is based on a 1998 novel by Tsutsui Yasutaka about a retired professor, Watanabe Gisuke, who is quietly living out his last days when he receives a mysterious message on his PC that his “enemy” (teki) is coming.

Lensed in black-and-white, the film begins as a record of his daily existence, from his meticulous meal prep – he is a something of a gourmet – to his platonic relationship with a former student (Takeuchi Kumi) that smolders with an unstated but evident mutual passion.

But once the enemy announces his presence, the film shifts into darker territory and the man’s dead wife refuses to remain quiet. “I hope this film can establish [the] kind of relationship with the audience, [that is] not one-sided, but more like a dream that you interpret with you own imagination,” Yoshida told Variety.