Straight off CURE (1997), his international breakthrough, Kiyoshi Kurosawa directed two low-budget films using the same basic premise and the same lead actor (Sho Aikawa) to completely different ends. The experiment first resulted in SERPENT’S PATH (1998, later remade in 2024), a dark gangland thriller with philosophical overtones.

Obsessed with avenging his young daughter’s murder, yakuza subordinate Miyashita (Teruyuki Kagawa) recruits Nijima (Aikawa), a brilliant yet strangely detached math teacher, to help carry outcarry out a scheme to kidnap and torture the man allegedly responsible. But the plan goes awry when their target, Otsuki (Yurei Yanagi), fingers another mobster as the mastermind behind Miyashita’s tragedy. As the two partners ascend the yakuza chain of command in search of the true culprit, Miyashita and Nijima follow the cold, calculating logic of revenge, descending into a moral abyss from which they may never surface. Featuring Kurosawa’s patented long takes and his claustrophobic arrangement of space, SERPENT’S PATH is one of the legendary director’s most chilling investigations into the endless cycle of violence and the evil that lodges in every heart.

Sunday, April 5
Doors 6:00 pm | Screening 6:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.
Tickets HERE

This film screens alongside Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s CHIME. There will be a 10 minute break between the two films.

SERPENT’S PATH “Hebi no michi” (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 1998 / 85 mins / NR / Japanese w. EST) A man enlists a friend to help him identify and exact revenge upon his daughter’s murderer.

*Must be 19+ w/ID for entry and bar service.
*Rio Theatre Groupons and passes OK for any single film only. Please redeem at the door.
*We recommend purchasing your tickets in advance at www.riotheatretickets.ca. If a screening or live event is not sold out, the remaining tickets will be available for in-person purchase at the Rio Theatre’s Box Office prior to showtime (subject to availability).
*Our box office is typically open 30 minutes before showtime. All seating is General Admission; please arrive 20-30 minutes prior to showtime to ensure great seats, and time for treats at concession.

*All Rio Theatre tickets are final sale. No refunds, exchanges or transfers.