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“He is guilty…he is not guilty…he is guilty…he is not guilty.” Watching Norichika Oba’s new film “Cyclops” feels like a game of “He loves me…he loves me not” – an emotional journey that puts you in a highly thrilling state of uncertainty.

Cyclops is streaming on TodoiF

After 14 years in prison for murdering his wife and her lover, Shinohara gets released. Detective Matsuo, who was in charge of the case, confesses to him that he was set up by a young yakuza boss, Zaizen. Together with the policeman and his grass Nishi, Shinohara plans his revenge. While learning how to shoot and getting ready to kill Zaizen, the main protagonist starts suffering nightmares about his wife’s murder, but at the same time, he finds peace when he meets her ghost. Besides the revenge story, “Cyclops” creates a second plot evolving around Shinohara’s feelings of guilt,...

Norichika Oba was born 1978 in Fukuoka and graduated from Japan Film School in 2003. Afterwards, he worked as assistant director for Hiroshi Nishitani (“Suspect X” and “Hirugao”), Yu Irie (“The Sun”) and Hideaki Anno (“Shin Godzilla”). His first feature film, “Nora” (2010), received awards at Tama New Wave and at Tanabe Benkei Film Festival. “Cyclops” is his second feature film.

On the occasion of the international premiere of his film “Cyclops” at the Nippon Connection – Japanese Film Festival , director Norichika Oba talks about the current state of the Japanese movie industry, his troubles shooting on a small budget and ultimately reveals the meaning of the Cyclops.

Your debut film “Nora” came out in 2010 and won several awards. “Cyclops” was released eight years after that. What happened in between that?

I had wanted to film another movie for some time. But I didn’t see the point in hurrying the creative process just to shoot a film quickly.

“He is guilty…he is not guilty…he is guilty…he is not guilty.” Watching Norichika Oba’s new film “Cyclops” feels like a game of “He loves me…he loves me not” – an emotional journey that puts you in a highly thrilling state of uncertainty.

Cyclops premiered internationally at Nippon Connection

After 14 years in prison for murdering his wife and her lover, Shinohara gets released. Detective Matsuo, who was in charge of the case, confesses to him that he was set up by a young yakuza boss, Zaizen. Together with the policeman and his grass Nishi, Shinohara plans his revenge. While learning how to shoot and getting ready to kill Zaizen, the main protagonist starts suffering nightmares about his wife’s murder, but at the same time, he finds peace when he meets her ghost. Besides the revenge story, “Cyclops” creates a second plot evolving around Shinohara’s feelings of guilt,...