bc magazine, hong kong

Ryoichi Kimizuka might not be a name that rings a bell for many, but few Japanese would be unfamiliar with his work. The veteran scriptwriter has penned numerous hits for film and television, most notably the highest grossing Japanese live action film of all time in Bayside Shakedown 2 as well as several other instalments in the wildly popular franchise. Bayside’s crowd-pleasing blend of action, suspense and light-hearted office politics within a beleaguered metropolitan police force has been largely abandoned by Kimizuka in writing and directing Nobody to Watch Over Me, a much more sombre and intimate treatment of one troubled cop’s road to redemption drenched with heavy-handed social commentary.

After her older brother is arrested on suspicion of killing two children, 15-year-old schoolgirl Saori (Mirai Shida) sees her life suddenly thrown into disarray as countless police and media descend on her family home. Two police detectives, Katsuura (Koichi Sato) and Mishima (Ryuhei Matsuda), are given the task of shielding her from the relentless media onslaught, but one particularly determined reporter (Kuranosuke Sasaki) stays hot on her trail. Unable to shake off their pursuers for long in the city, Katsuura eventually smuggles Saori away to a remote seaside holiday house run by a couple linked to a traumatic episode in his past, but their respite is short-lived as an internet lynch mob targets Saori and Katsuura is confronted with the consequences of his actions.

As is common these days with large-scale TV company-backed productions, the film’s domestic release was complemented by a two-hour television prequel in which Katsuura and Mishima were assigned to protect a murder victim’s daughter (played by Yoshino Kimura, who also appears briefly in the movie). Its story flows seamlessly into the events of the film, providing contrast between the repercussions of murder on the families of victims and victimizers, as well as fleshing out the characters of its police protagonists. Although the film works fine on its own, when seen in conjunction with the TV special the meaning behind recurring characters and situations becomes much clearer, and a more cohesive and satisfying character arc emerges for Katsuura as he comes to terms with the man he has become.

Winner of a best screenplay award at the Japanese-movie friendly Montreal International Film Festival in 2008, Nobody to Watch Over Me may present the veneer of a socially conscious thriller with its shaky handheld camerawork and restrained performances adding an air of legitimacy and documentary-style realism, but Kimizuka’s unnecessary sensationalizing of his subject matter shows he is more concerned with creating villainous straw men for dramatic effect. Japanese television and tabloids do have a tendency to go overboard when covering more lurid stories, but little news value is found in obsessively stalking a suspect’s school-age relatives; and while the country’s internet culture is notorious for the vehemence of its anonymous vitriol, it is pure speculation (and possibly prejudice) on Kimizuka’s part that it could ever go as far as it does here. His apparent disdain for the media, netizens and young people in general manifests in his exaggerations of their behaviour.

While it proves impossible to maintain the breakneck pace of the opening act once the film moves to the seaside retreat, adequate tension is generated as the characters’ pasts are revealed and they work through their respective traumas, although in places it degenerates into a group therapy session. Ultimately it’s an incongruous mix of disingenuous social critique and earnest psychological drama that just about works thanks to solid central performances from child prodigy Shida and the typically gruff and tormented Sato. If only the subtlety and honesty of their acting had been matched by the writing. Don Brown