Evil Does Not Exist

On the Dialectic of Nature and Culture in “Evil Does Not Exist”

From a purely scientific standpoint, . What exists are actions, consequences, and biological drives.

: Their simple life of wood-chopping and water-fetching is threatened when a Tokyo talent agency proposes building a "glamping" (glamorous camping) site. Environmental Stakes Evil Does Not Exist

Hamaguchi’s title, then, is a provocation. To say “evil does not exist” is not to deny moral responsibility. It is to argue that evil is not a substance one possesses like a tumor or a birthmark. Instead, evil is a failure of relationship —between parent and child, between human and land, between intention and consequence. The film echoes Hannah Arendt’s concept of the “banality of evil”: the idea that the worst atrocities are not committed by monsters but by ordinary people who stop thinking about the effects of their actions. In Mizubiki, no one wakes up wanting to destroy the forest. But the forest is destroyed anyway, and a child dies, because the chain of listening was broken somewhere upstream.

Hamaguchi’s direction is patient and observant. The long shots of swaying larch trees and the rhythmic sound of an axe hitting wood create a hypnotic atmosphere. The score, composed by Eiko Ishibashi, is equally vital. It often cuts off abruptly, leaving the viewer in a jarring silence that mirrors the unpredictability of the natural world. On the Dialectic of Nature and Culture in

: In the rural village of Mizubiki, a single father named Takumi lives a quiet life with his daughter, Hana. Their community is threatened when a Tokyo real estate firm plans to build a "glamping" site, which risks contaminating the local water supply.

In this view, "Being" is synonymous with "Goodness." To exist is to have form, structure, and life. Therefore, everything that exists is, to some degree, good. So, where does evil come from? The answer lies in the concept of privatio boni —the privation of good. Instead, evil is a failure of relationship —between

When bad things happen, they are not punishments. They are not tests. They are not the work of dark forces. They are simply events—some caused by nature, some caused by other people's flawed, traumatized, or greedy decision-making.

You are left with a cleaner, more actionable emotion: This is harm. Let me fix it. Let me heal it. Let me prevent it.

Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist (2023) is a haunting, deliberate "eco-drama" that shifts from a quiet observation of rural life into a jarring, enigmatic finale. Following the massive success of Drive My Car

However, if you strip away the divine narrative, something interesting happens. Philosopher Epicurus articulated the trilemma that remains unsolved: God is either willing to prevent evil but unable (not omnipotent), able but unwilling (not benevolent), or neither able nor willing (not God).