The sudden death of Ren Osugi last February robbed Japanese cinema of one of its most dependable actors. That loss is rendered all the more acute by ¡°The Chaplain,¡± Osugi¡¯s final screen role, and his debut as producer. It¡¯s the kind of serious, intelligent drama that might struggle to get made without an established screen star to lend it clout, and it¡¯s hard not to wonder what might have come next.
The movie is also notable for focusing, with rigor and an almost total lack of sentimentality, on a topic that¡¯s generally kept out of the media spotlight in Japan: the death penalty. Surveys suggest that capital punishment enjoys widespread popular support here, but there¡¯s very little public debate on the subject, and executions are conducted in an almost clandestine fashion.
¡°The Chaplain¡± sheds some light on the reality of life on death row, as seen from the perspective of a Christian clergyman. Saeki (Osugi) makes fortnightly trips to a prison to counsel inmates awaiting execution, toting a Bible and a portable music player in case anyone fancies singing hymns. Only six months into the job, he¡¯s still a little shaky in his faith, and Osugi¡¯s restrained performance conveys the uncertainty of a man who isn¡¯t sure he has all the answers.
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