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| Zero Focus | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster | |
| ゼロの焦点 | |
| Directed by | Yoshitaro Nomura |
| Written by | |
| Based on | Zero no shōten by Seicho Matsumoto |
| Produced by | Ichinosuke Hozumi |
| Starring | Yoshiko Kuga |
| Cinematography | Takashi Kawamata |
| Edited by | Yoshiyasu Hamamura |
| Music by | Yasushi Akutagawa |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Shochiku |
Release date |
|
Running time | 95 minutes[1] |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
Zero Focus (ゼロの焦点, Zero no shōten) is a 1961 Japanese crime drama film directed by Yoshitarō Nomura, and co-written by Shinobu Hashimoto and Yoji Yamada. It is based on the novel of the same name by Seichō Matsumoto.[2][3] A remake of the film was released in 2009.
Plot
[edit]One week into newlywed Teiko Uhara's marriage, her husband, ad agency manager Kenichi, leaves on a short business trip to Kanazawa and doesn't return. With a pair of old photographs she found among his belongings, Teiko travels across Japan to search for him, first with the help of her husband's employer, later on her own. After a series of mysterious deaths, including a reception girl of the agency's Kanazawa branch, who turns out to be Kenichi's common law wife, and Kenichi's alleged suicide, all clues lead to Sachiko Murota, wife of a wealthy business partner of her husband. Teiko confronts Mrs. Murota and blames her for murdering Kenichi and everyone who knew of her past as a prostitute in the post-war era. Yet, as Mrs. Murota's confession reveals, the truth is even more complex than that.
Cast
[edit]- Yoshiko Kuga as Teiko Uhara
- Hizuru Takachiho as Sachiko Murota / Emmy
- Ineko Arima as Hisako Tanuma / Sally
- Koji Nambara as Kenichi Uhara / Masuzaburo Sone
- Kō Nishimura as Sōtarō Uhara
- Yoshi Katō as Gisaku Murota
- Sadako Sawamura as Sōtarō's wife
- Takanobu Hozumi as Mr. Honda
Awards
[edit]- 1961 Blue Ribbon Award for Best Supporting Actress (Hizuru Takachiho)[4]
Legacy
[edit]Seicho Matsumoto's novel was again adapted in 2009 by Isshin Inudō with Ryōko Hirosue as Teiko Uhara.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Zero Focus". Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese). Retrieved 1 February 2021.
- ^ a b "ゼロの焦点とは (Zero Focus novel)". Kotobank デジタル辞典 (in Japanese). Retrieved 1 February 2021.
- ^ "ゼロの焦点 (101st anniversary of film director Yoshitaro Nomura)". Cinenouveau (in Japanese). Retrieved 1 February 2021.
- ^ "12th Blue Ribbon Awards" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2021.