is a Japanese film made in 2004. It was directed by

Shinya Tsukamoto is a Japanese filmmaker, film producer, screenwriter, editor, director, cinematographer, art director, production designer and actor. With a considerable cult following both domestically and abroad, Tsukamoto is best known for his body horro ...

and stars

Tadanobu Asano , better known by his stage name , is a Japanese actor. He is known for his roles as Dragon Eye Morrison in ''Electric Dragon 80.000 V'', Kakihara in ''Ichi the Killer'', Mamoru Arita in '' Bright Future'', Hattori Genosuke in ''Zatoichi'', Kenj ...

as Hiroshi Takagi, a man whose girlfriend dies and who loses his memory in a car accident. The original concept that inspired Vital was the image of medical students making sketches during a dissection. Tsukamoto visited a medical school and observed a dissection while writing the screenplay, which was originally titled: ''Dissection Film Project''.

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

's anatomical sketches were a direct inspiration.Shinya Tsukamoto, Interview included on Vital DVD. Tartan Video.

Plot

Hiroshi (

) wakes up in a hospital room and realizes that he was in a serious car accident that caused the death of his girlfriend, Ryoko (

Nami Tsukamoto is a Japanese ballet dancer A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict ...

), as well as the loss of his memory. While trying to regain his memory, one of the first clues that Hiroshi finds are his old medical textbooks that he studied prior to his accident. This gives him a renewed purpose in life and he delves forward into his

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...

studies. One of his medical school classmates, Ikumi (Kiki), soon becomes infatuated with Hiroshi, although he does not return her interests initially. During a 4-month period, in which his class dissects human cadavers, Hiroshi realizes that the body that he is

dissecting Dissection (from Latin ' "to cut to pieces"; also called anatomization) is the dismembering of the body of a deceased animal or plant to study its anatomical structure. Autopsy is used in pathology and forensic medicine to determine the cause of ...

is the body of his former girlfriend, Ryoko, which causes more of Hiroshi's memory to return. During this time, Hiroshi engages in a relationship with his classmate Ikumi, that helps him recall further memories of his ex-girlfriend. Ikumi, meanwhile, feels jealous rage because of Hiroshi's devotion in dissecting the cadaver of Ryoko, while Hiroshi is consumed in the quest to understand who that person was that died in his car and ultimately find out who he really is.

Cast

References

External links

* * 2004 films 2004 drama films Films directed by Shinya Tsukamoto Films scored by Chu Ishikawa Japanese drama films Films about amnesia 2000s Japanese films 2000s Japanese-language films {{2000s-Japan-film-stub