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Before We Vanish finds Kiyoshi Kurosawa working within well-established genre guidelines to take a poignant, surprisingly sincere look at the human condition. Read critic reviews

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Before We Vanish Photos

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Movie Info

Three aliens travel to Earth on a mission in preparation for a mass invasion. Having taken possession of human bodies, the visitors rob their hosts of the very essence of their being, leaving psychological and spiritual devastation in their wake.
  • Rating:
    R (Some Violence|Bloody Images)
  • Genre:
    sci fi, drama, mystery and thriller
  • Original Language:
    Japanese
  • Director:
    Kiyoshi Kurosawa
  • Producer:
    Yoshio Nakayama, Yôsuke Miyake
  • Writer:
    Sachiko Tanaka, Kiyoshi Kurosawa
  • Release Date (Theaters):
     limited
  • Release Date (Streaming):
  • Box Office (Gross USA):
    $8.1K
  • Runtime:
  • Production Co:
    Django Films, Nikkatsu Corporation
  • Sound Mix:
    Dolby Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    Scope (2.35:1)

Cast & Crew

Masami Nagasawa
Narumi Kase
Ryuhei Matsuda
Shinji Kase
Hiroki Hasegawa
Sakurai
Mahiro Takasugi
Amano
Yuri Tsunematsu
Akira Tachibana
Kyôko Koizumi
Doctor
Kazuya Kojima
Detective Kurumada
Atsuko Maeda
Asumi Kase
Ken Mitsuishi
Suzuki
Takashi Sasano
Shinagawa
Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Director
Sachiko Tanaka
Screenwriter
Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Screenwriter
Yoshio Nakayama
Producer
Yôsuke Miyake
Producer
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News & Interviews for Before We Vanish

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Critic Reviews for Before We Vanish

All Critics (49) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (39) | Rotten (10)

  • Based on a play by Tomohiro Maekawa, Before We Vanish-its Japanese title means "Strolling Invaders"-may not be prime Kurosawa, and it's oddly uneven in tone, but it has an ease about it that's intensely engaging.

    March 2, 2018 | Full Review…

    Jonathan Romney

    Film Comment Magazine

  • As an experiment in blending the minute character observations of Kurosawa's dramas into a pure genre plot, Before We Vanish does succeed.

    February 16, 2018 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    Kate Taylor

    Globe and Mail

  • It's a quirky hybrid of a film that mostly works, thanks to some fine performances and by a script to goes in unexpected directions.

    February 15, 2018 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review…

    Bruce DeMara

    Toronto Star

  • An unsettling, and sometimes high-concept doodle, but it's awfully hard to resist a film that marries Atomic Age paranoia and optimism with Kurosawa's signature post-modern, atmosphere-intensive style.

    February 2, 2018 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    Simon Abrams

    RogerEbert.com

  • Although a tighter cut of the 130-minute Before We Vanish would likely be an improvement, it might lose this version's intriguing asides.

    February 1, 2018 | Full Review…

    Mark Jenkins

    NPR

  • The movie plods and meanders through an overly-familiar narrative on its way to a half-baked and uneven conclusion.

    February 1, 2018 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review…

    James Berardinelli

    ReelViews
View All Critic Reviews (49)

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