JFF25 Serpent's Path

Following the brutal murder of his eight-year-old daughter, Albert (Damien Bonnard) is consumed by thoughts of revenge. Believing his daughter’s death to be linked to a violent organ trafficking network known only as ‘The Circle’, Albert teams up with Sayoko (Kō Shibasaki), a Japanese psychiatrist with a mysterious past. Together, the pair embark on a mission to kidnap and interrogate those they deem responsible. On the surface, Serpent’s Path is a stark tale of vengeance; beneath it lies a web of anxiety and emotional displacement that turns this film into a deeply unsettling psychological thriller. Set in Paris, Serpent’s Path is director Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s French-language remake of his own 1998 film by the same name. A bleak descent into human desperation, Serpent’s Path employs Kurosawa’s signature wide shots and static compositions to let violence and tension unfold with slow, dreadful inevitability. In this remake, the supporting lead—originally a male character—is reimagined as Sayoko, whose reserved persona proves even more chilling juxtaposed against the raw anguish of grieving father Arthur. Hauntingly compelling from the first frame, Serpent’s Path drew international acclaim following its screening at the 2024 San Sebastián International Film Festival.