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Caniba (2017)

Name: Caniba
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2017-09-01
Duration: 96 min
Rating: 5.5
Cast: Issei Sagawa, Jun Sagawa, Yoko Satomi

Caniba (2017), directed by Lucien Castaing-Taylor, starring Issei Sagawa and Jun Sagawa.

09/01/2017 BR Documentary 1h 36m

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Synopsis

Caniba is a fresco about flesh and desire. It reflects on the discomfiting significance of cannibalism in human existence through the prism of one Japanese man, Issei Sagawa, and his mysterious relationship with his brother, Jun Sagawa.

Lucien Castaing-TaylorCinematography, Director, Editing, Producer
Véréna ParavelCinematography, Director, Editing, Producer
Valentina NovatiProducer

About the film

Caniba is a 2017 French documentary film produced, filmed, edited and directed by Véréna Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor, capturing the notorious Japanese cannibal Issei Sagawa's late life as a free man.

The film had its world premiere in the Orizzonti section of the 74th Venice International Film Festival on 4 September 2017, where it was awarded the Special Jury Prize.

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The film had its world premiere in the Orizzonti section of the 74th Venice International Film Festival on 4 September 2017, where it was awarded the Special Jury Prize.

Reception

Caniba won numerous awards at film festivals, but received a mixed reaction from critics, with many critics made highly uncomfortable by the film's detached, amoral examination of its deeply mentally disturbed subject. The New York Times found the film to be "an exercise in intellectualized scab-picking" and its subject "repellant". Variety described Caniba as "a film made for post-screening debates on the liberal-minded documentary circuit, though what, if any, commercial potential distributors might see in it is another question." RogerEbert.com stated that the film was "undeniably fascinating", but had some reservations about its approach: "Victims too rarely get to tell their stories. I don't know that what we need right now is to sympathize with monsters." Slant Magazine, in a three-out-of-four-star review, praised the film's "fundamental openness toward its subject by creating free space for engagement and contemplation", but felt that it "broaches ethical questions that it lacks the resources to address" and that "With no push to either interrogate or contextualize the man, the cool ethnographer’s detachment of the film comes to take on a sensationalistic tenor."

References

External links

Caniba at IMDb

Text from Caniba (film) on Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caniba_(film)

Trivia

It premiered on September 1, 2017, a Friday.
It runs 1h36 — a typical feature length.
As of September 20, 2026, it is available in Brazil by subscription on Reserva Imovision Amazon Channel.
This film's quiz has 7 questions — enough to play more than once without repeats.

Production

StudiosSEL, Norte Productions, CNC
CountriesFrance, United Kingdom, United States
LanguagesJapanese, French, English
StatusReleased

Where to watch

Reserva Imovision Amazon Channel Streaming

Cast

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Crew

Lucien Castaing-Taylor Cinematography
Véréna Paravel Cinematography
Lucien Castaing-Taylor Director
Véréna Paravel Director
Lucien Castaing-Taylor Editing
Véréna Paravel Editing
Lucien Castaing-Taylor Producer
Valentina Novati Producer
Véréna Paravel Producer

Questions about this film

What is Caniba about?

Caniba: Caniba is a fresco about flesh and desire. It reflects on the discomfiting significance of cannibalism in human existence through the prism of one Japanese man, Issei Sagawa, and his mysterious relationship with his brother, Jun Sagawa.

Who directed Caniba?

Caniba was directed by Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel in 2017.

Who stars in Caniba?

The cast of Caniba includes Issei Sagawa, Jun Sagawa and Yoko Satomi.

How long is Caniba?

Caniba runs for 96 minutes, or 1h36.

Where can I watch Caniba?

Caniba is available on Reserva Imovision Amazon Channel. Availability changes often: the list on this page is the most recent we received.