Focus

A short (72 minutes), direct and to-the-point media-commentary thriller. A sleazy TV producer trying to exploit a quiet otaku (an obsessive hobbyist) whose hobby is electronic eavesdropping ends up getting a lot more than he bargained for when they eavesdrop on the wrong conversation and he prods said otaku into helping him "investigate" the lead, only to find out that some things (and people) are not always as they seem, when a minor altercation causes things to take a rather nasty turn....

In a relatively quiet, but brutally direct way, this movie is an excellent criticism of the trend towards "reality shows" and "reality news," and how both tend to sensationalize violence and danger and exploit ordinary people in the service of "entertainment."

Adding to its power and feel of authenticity is the fact that it was shot entirely from the perspective of the cinematographer, who also plays the occasionally heard (but never seen) camera man. No sensationalizing; just a brilliant, powerful movie.

Excellent performances all around, but a special mention for Tadanobu Asano, who gives an outstanding performance as the beleaguered otaku, and demonstrates why he is one of Japan's best and most sought-after actors.

The subtitled (Region 2) DVD release is not widescreen, but considering the premise and perspective, the original probably wasn't and shouldn't've been.

The director of this film is a former TV documentary director and you can see he really knows his stuff in this mock documentary.

The main topic seems to be how a documentary director can manipulate the subjects of a documentary to achieve his own ends. The results are at first rather comic but become increasingly disturbing. Television documentary makers in Japan have often been criticized for faking material and this film takes it to an extreme.

Shot on video you always feel like you are behind the camera and present as the events unfold - this can make it very difficult to watch. But like being present at a tragic accident it is difficult to look away.

As a comment on the media I think that this low budget movie is a masterpiece as telling as (or perhaps more so than) Network or Broadcast News.

TV journalist Iwai (Shirai Akira) is shooting an off-beat piece with his small two-person crew of cameraman and lackey AD (Unno Keiko), about Kanemura (Asano Tadanobu) who uses gadgetry to pick up stray signals from mobile phones, police radios, etc. Shot exclusively through the lens of the TV crew's camera, we are invited to share and critique the voyeuristic and manipulative machinations of the quasi-reporting that passes for TV News in Japan. Our distaste for geeky Kanemura's obsessive eavesdropping pales in comparison to the nausea engendered by the moral vacuity of Iwai and his apathetic accomplices.

Isaka turns his budgetary constraints to his advantage through the clever use of his framing device, giving a sense of immediacy to events and creating a metaphor for our own complicity in consuming the undignified fare the wide-shows and tabloids dish up. Crackling performances from Iwai and Asano make the first 30 minutes tense and compelling.

Then suddenly a gun is introduced, and with depressing inevitability the audience knows it will get fired. When it does, the aftermath sees the manipulator manipulated, the geek become aggressor, and the apathetic forced to participate. At this point the criticism Isaka has sustained so well is compromised by his own wish to exploit the action (and his female actor) for cheap thrills. The turnaround is too pat, and Asano's slide into psychosis is too quick and convenient.

Fine acting and brisk pacing make Focus worth watching. Like In The Company of Men it sets up a trick that leaves a bad taste in the mouth, and will have audiences arguing its merits afterwards. That's no bad thing, and I hesitate to reveal more of the story because Focus works well on many levels. Ultimately, however, it loses its way in terms of message.