Commensal 7 years old

A two-channel installation utilizing both digital video and 16mm film, Commensal focuses on the controversial figure of Issei Sagawa, who gained notoriety in 1981 when, as a graduate student in Paris, he murdered a fellow student and engaged in acts of cannibalism. After his release from a mental institution, Sagawa returned to Japan, and later appeared in innumerable documentaries and sexploitation films. In contrast to earlier journalistic documentaries on Sagawa, the film suspends moral judgment and explores a realm that eludes classification as either “documentary” or “pure fiction,” to instead chart the ambiguous territory between crime, fantasy, and social realities, between an individual and the economy of his public persona.

Credits

Commensal Cast

Name	Character
Issei Sagawa He was 68, now 75 years old

Commensal Crew

Name	Department
Lucien Castaing-Taylor as Director. He was 51 (now 58) years old	Directing
Véréna Paravel as Director. She was 46 (now 53) years old	Directing