AllMovie

A man discovers one of his literary heroes may be just as dark and twisted as his work in this thriller from director Barbet Schroeder. Alex Fayard (Benoit Magimel) is a French novelist who has earned an international reputation for his crime fiction. Fayard travels to Kyoto to help promote the publication of his latest novel in Japan, and he tells Ken Honda (Gen Shimaoka), Fayard's editor at his Japanese publishing house, that he'd like to meet Shundei Oe, a celebrated but enigmatic Japanese author who does not do interviews and has never been photographed. While Oe's works are full of moral ambiguity and dark undercurrents, Fayard is a man who believes that good can and must ultimately triumph. Honda takes Fayard out for a night on the town, and they visit a geisha house where Taomo (Lika Minamoto) is performing. Fayard is struck by Taomo's beauty but intrigued by a long scar running down her back, and she tells him (in perfect French) that it was inflicted upon her by a sadistic former lover. Taomo also confides that the same man is trying to work his way back into her life; Fayard offers to help her, and discovers that the cruel man who hurt Taomo is in close contact with Oe. Inju, La Bete dans L'ombre (aka Inju: The Beast in the Shadow) was based on a novel by Japanese author Edogawa Rampo.