Hiroshi Teshigahara on the film - "This movie is about the breakdown of communication between people, not only in Japan, but universally. The protagonist loses his face once and finds a new face. It is a form of irony. He thought that his isolation was a result of not having a face, having to wear a mask. When he got the new face through plastic surgery, he thought this would mean that he could communicate with people once again. But he never recovers what he sought through this transformation. Not only couldn’t he obtain what he wanted, but even worse, his alienation deepened. I sought to convey the magnitude of human isolation and loneliness. He believed at first that he could not relate to others and to the society in which he lives (he quits his job) because he has lost his face. Despite his successful metamorphosis, he still cannot unite himself to others. This is the bitter irony. As you see, I wanted to show a triumph which was really a failure. On many occasions people have to face a bottomless pit at the very moment when they have obtained the thing for which they have yearned for a long time. I would hate to say what the major theme of a film is. I usually deal with many human problems at once and pursue many different human conditions. All of these are interlocked within the man in Face of Another."

Very haunting movie. Beautiful cinematography.

Why no one comments on the casual incest happening on the alternate tale?