Interpretation of the final scene of the movie "Evil Does Not Exist"

I think anyone who watched the movie "Evil Does Not Exist" was shocked by the ending. I couldn't understand it at all and was stunned in front of the sudden end credits. I heard other audience members saying, "Is that the end?" and "I didn't get it." After reading various interpretations online, I found some that partially made sense but none that completely satisfied me. However, after considering those interpretations, I eventually arrived at an explanation that feels right to me. I decided to write this note to share my thoughts with others who have already seen the movie. If you haven't seen the movie yet, please be cautious.

◉Conclusion First

I'll start with the conclusion.

"Takumi intended to die together with Hana and incapacitated Takahashi."

This is my interpretation. Some may find it absurd. I'll explain step by step how I arrived at this interpretation.

◉Where Did Takumi's Violence Erupt From?

Director Ryusuke Hamaguchi said in an interview about the final scene:

"In the end, what everyone perceives in that scene is an eruption of violence lurking within an individual."

This "eruption of violence lurking within an individual" likely refers to Takumi strangling Takahashi from behind (I believe there's another meaning, which I'll discuss at the end).

In everyday life, Takumi seems inscrutable, but he doesn't come across as someone who would harm others. During the briefing session, he repeatedly stops a quarrelsome young man from behind. When Mayuzumi injures herself on a thorn, Takumi unusually apologizes politely. This makes his violent act at the end all the more incomprehensible, but there are hints in the car conversation.

When Takahashi and Mayuzumi, employees of the company promoting the glamping project, ask Takumi if deer attack people, he responds, "Deer are timid animals, so they never attack people. But a wounded deer might." There's also a wounded deer in front of Hana in the final scene.

Takumi is a wounded deer. This interpretation makes sense. Because he was wounded, the eruption of violence occurred as an exception.

What does it mean for Takumi to be a wounded deer? Physically, he is healthy. However, his heart is deeply wounded from parting with his wife (probably due to death). This is easy to miss. Unlike Takahashi and Mayuzumi, Takumi speaks only minimally and doesn't show his emotions, making his inner state hard to read. But in his house, there are photos of his wife with Hana, who looks much the same now. It's likely not much time has passed since the wife's death.

Takumi's wound hasn't healed. He seems to go about his daily life normally, but he frequently forgets to pick up Hana from after-school care, misses a meeting with local friends, and makes mistakes with payments at the udon restaurant. At first, you might think he's just forgetful, but these are hints that he is deeply emotionally scarred and struggling to live in reality.

Hana is also a wounded deer. She is hurt by her mother's death. There are two scenes where Takumi is late to pick her up, and in both, Hana has already left by the time he arrives. Other children would likely wait while playing with friends. Hana, however, doesn't. She talks to adults but not to other children. Instead, she wanders in nature, searching for bird feathers that the village head told her could be used as musical instruments. I recall a piano in Takumi and Hana's house, suggesting that Hana's search for feathers is tied to memories of her mother.

There's a scene that clearly shows the problem between them. After the briefing session, Takumi is drawing at home. Hana tries to get his attention but he dismisses her, saying, "I can't draw." Hana kicks his back. This is surprising because the earlier scene of Takumi carrying Hana through the forest suggests a close father-daughter relationship. But this is only one aspect. The father's broad back sometimes carries his daughter, but it can also be a wall that rejects her. Takumi, wounded by his wife's death, cannot fully face Hana. Hana not only struggles to connect with other children but is also sometimes rejected by her father.

I think Takumi's wound is much deeper than we might realize. This is often the case in the real world, too. We intellectually understand the emotional pain of someone who has lost a spouse, but we rarely grasp the true depth of that wound. To understand this movie, the audience must imagine the depth of Takumi's wound from the scattered clues.

◉When Did Takumi Decide to Die with Hana?

I believe I have conveyed that Takumi is a wounded deer and in a situation where violence could erupt. Next, let's consider Takumi's state of mind in the final part of the film.

Hana goes missing. As the village chief mentioned, walking alone in nature is dangerous. Blood dripping from the thorn in the tree—although it was Mayuzumi's blood—clearly indicates that nature can directly harm the human body. The pond and waterways depicted suggest a life-threatening situation. Night falls and darkness descends.

It's certain that the worst possible thought—Hana's death—crossed Takumi's mind. If that were to happen, it would be directly due to his forgetting to pick her up from after-school care. Already deeply wounded by his wife's death, how would Takumi cope if his daughter died due to his own carelessness? It wouldn't be surprising if the thought of following her in death crossed Takumi's mind.

Expanding on this, Takumi might have even thought that he and Hana, who have been suffering from the wife's death, might find peace in death.

In any case, I believe the thought of dying if Hana died crossed Takumi's mind while searching for her in the darkness.

◉What Triggered Takumi to Decide on Double Suicide?

At the end of his search, Takumi finds Hana with Takahashi. There are two deer in front of Hana. One of them is bleeding from a gunshot wound. These deer are likely a metaphor for Takumi and Hana. Takumi stops Takahashi from approaching, probably to avoid provoking the wounded deer and putting Hana in danger. At this point, Takumi is trying to protect Hana. This is typical parental behavior. Since Hana is unharmed, if Takumi protects her from the deer, they can return home together.

Then, Hana takes off her knit cap and approaches the deer. This is a major turning point. Here, Takumi's thought process shifts from "If Hana dies, I'll die too" to "I'll die together with Hana."

The reason for this shift will be explained later, but there is a basis for such a leap in the conversation between Mayuzumi and Takahashi in the car. Reflecting on their career changes, both talk about "swinging to the complete opposite." Mayuzumi shifted from caregiving to the entertainment industry, and Takahashi from performing to behind-the-scenes work. Particularly, Mayuzumi says she "swung to the complete opposite" because she was almost breaking down and her heart was on the verge of collapsing. This perfectly aligns with Takumi. Due to his heart nearly breaking from his wife's death, he swung from "protecting his daughter" to "dying with his daughter."

So why did Hana's action of removing her knit cap trigger Takumi's decision to commit double suicide? I think there are two reasons.

First, when outside, Hana always wears a knit cap, which visually emphasizes her childlike innocence. By taking off the cap in front of the deer, her beautiful black hair is revealed.

Until then, the relationship between Takumi and Hana is symbolized by the scene where he carries her through the forest, representing a protector and the protected. However, by taking off the knit cap, Hana sheds her childlike innocence. This act makes Takumi and Hana more equal, or precisely, partners in life and death. The thought that had crossed Takumi's mind during the search—"If Hana dies, I'll die too"—leaps to "Let's die together and be freed from our suffering."

This alone might not be convincing. The more significant reason is the second one. Hana's action of removing her knit cap and approaching the deer mirrors Takumi's action towards the end of the briefing session. Takumi removes his hat and says, "I am a third-generation pioneer," showing respect and trying to connect with Takahashi and Mayuzumi, unlike the hostile villagers. Hana, too, might have shown respect or tried to help the wounded deer by removing her knit cap, similar to how Takumi tried to stop Mayuzumi's bleeding.

Hana is the character most connected to nature. She doesn't interact with other children but walks through the forest, searches for bird feathers in the field, and watches deer from a distance. However, she cannot fully join nature. The tree thorns and wounded deer reject humans. Innocent Hana, unaware of this, tries to approach, but to the wounded deer, her approach is frightening. Takumi understands this. Paradoxically, Hana's attempt to approach nature highlights that both she and Takumi are destroyers of nature.

When Takumi asked, "Where do the deer go?", Takahashi replied, "To another place." This was irresponsible. However, the local residents do something more terrifying—they kill deer with guns. Takumi, who remained calm upon hearing gunshots, also participates in this. The wounded deer's appearance confronts him with this fact.

At that moment, Takumi might have felt that they shouldn't be alive. Takumi said, "Balance is important." A double suicide to save both from suffering might restore a bit of balance between nature and humans. The village chief said, "What those above do affects those below. Those above must behave accordingly." Confronted with the suffering of the "lower" deer, Takumi might have felt that disappearing from this world was their duty as the "higher" beings.

◉Why did Takumi strangle Takahashi?

When Takahashi sees Hana take off her knit hat and approach the deer, he steps forward to stop her. Takumi tightly strangles Takahashi from behind. This act is entirely different from when he previously restrained Takahashi with his hand to avoid provoking the wounded deer and endangering Hana. This time, the strangling is to prevent Takahashi from interfering with the murder-suicide Takumi has resolved to commit, prompted by Hana's actions.

In a normal situation, protecting his daughter from the deer should be his top priority. However, Takumi has decided on a murder-suicide. Therefore, his immediate priority becomes incapacitating Takahashi. Additionally, Takumi might have thought that if the deer attacked Hana, it would be a painful but necessary restoration of balance, since humans had shot the deer.

Of course, the deer might just flee without attacking Hana. In that case, by eliminating himself and Hana, Takumi could still slightly restore the balance between nature and humans while freeing both from their suffering.

When Takumi strangles Takahashi, he foams at the mouth and loses consciousness. Then Takumi approaches Hana, who is lying on the ground with a nosebleed, apparently attacked by the wounded deer. Takumi checks for Hana's breathing by placing his fingers near her nose and then wipes away the blood, indicating she is still alive. If she had been dead, he would likely have shown a different reaction, such as more intense grief. If the film intended to suggest Hana's death, it would likely show her with blood from her mouth, implying internal damage.

Takumi picks up Hana and leaves the scene, walking in a direction different from the way they came. If he intended to return to the village, he would retrace his steps to the car. This action strongly suggest his intention for a murder-suicide.

◉What is the true meaning of the title?

Takahashi stands up but then collapses again, showing that Takumi only intended to incapacitate him, not kill him. Although Takahashi might die from exposure in the cold night forest, that wasn't Takumi's aim. This also implies that Takumi's plan for murder-suicide will succeed because Takahashi can't contact anyone for help.

Initially, I excerpted a statement from the director. Now, I will quote it in full regarding the film's ending:

"How you interpret it is up to you. However, rather than being simply nonsensical, I felt a strange sense of acceptance while writing and filming it. In the end, what everyone perceives in that scene is an eruption of violence lurking within an individual. This element is clearly present in the film. Naturally, the audience will strongly feel inclined to view it as evil. However, the film is titled 'Evil Does Not Exist.' The audience is prohibited from simply seeing it as evil, thus experiencing the heightened tension between the title and the content, which is the fascinating experience I aimed to create."

"An eruption of violence lurking within an individual" likely refers directly to Takumi strangling Takahashi and leaving him in a potentially fatal situation.

Takahashi, questioning his way of life, is attracted to Takumi's lifestyle, partly motivated by a superficial enjoyment of chopping wood. This echoes the resident's line at the briefing session: "People come to this town from the city to throw away their stress."

Although Takahashi is somewhat shallow, he is not a malicious man nor the mastermind behind the glamping project. His near-death situation at Takumi's hands is not a form of punishment but rather like a random attack by a wounded deer. Despite Takumi's extreme violence, the audience can't simply see it as evil, just as they can't see the attacking deer as evil.

This is what the director meant by "an eruption of violence", but based on my analysis, it also points to Takumi's violence towards Hana. He didn't seek her consent. What Takumi plans is an unagreed murder-suicide.

For the audience, who has seen Hana's endearing moments, such as her murmuring about the trees, Takumi's act of killing her, despite his suffering from his wife's death, is unforgivable. However, the title forbids us from seeing it as evil. This dilemma and resulting anguish are likely what the director aimed to convey in "Evil Does Not Exist."

Takahashi's cry of "What's going on?" when strangled represents the audience's voice. His inability to stop Takumi's murder-suicide, too, parallels our helplessness.