NOISE
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Synopsis
Ten years have passed from the Akihabara massacre. A pop star whose mother was killed in the incident, a teenager who left her home to Akihabara, a delivery boy who turns his directionless anger to the city: this is a story about the people striving to grasp the string of hope within the darkness surrounding the city, the incident, and the people.
©movie “Noise” production committee
Director’s Note
When I was in high school, a friend of mine committed suicide.
Without being able to accept that fact, in 2008, indiscriminate killings occurred in Akihabara.
Shocked by this event, I was 16 years old at the time.
That incident led me to research the indiscriminate killings that have occurred to date, and I found that there have been many such incidents not only in Japan but also around the world, and that most of the perpetrators of these incidents tend to imitate movies and novels that depict mass murders or violent revenge that have occurred in the past.
Zouda, the murderer in the 1999 Ikebukuro street killing rampage, identified with the protagonist of Kenji Nakagami’s novel “Map of the 19-Year-Olds.” After Zoda’s arrest, a note was found in his room in which he had transcribed a passage from that novel, and I was strongly attracted to this fact.
As I investigated the case, I found that various factors overlapped, and even without a definitive reason, a series of coincidental events led to a major incident.
Who is to blame?
Is the perpetrator solely responsible?
Is society at fault?
Can we say that we are not at fault?
The media tends to want to clarify reasons for incidents. By assigning a definitive evil, it tries to pique the viewer’s interest. However, this simplifies the case and does not really solve it.
In making the film from the viewpoints of various people: the victim, the victim’s family, possible perpetrators, and those who may have been present at the time of the incident, we tried to get to the bottom of the case.
Every shot, we discussed with the actors and crew and gradually found answers as we worked on the film. In the process, I met Kokoro Shinozaki, one of the lead actors. She had encountered various difficulties when she was in junior high school and was on the verge of despair.
But, she still tries her best to live her life, trying to find hope while performing as an idol in Akihabara. I somehow unconsciously compared her to the friend who committed suicide when I was in junior high school.
I want her to live on for the sake of my friend who committed suicide.
Combination with this super personal and one-sided feeling led me to make this film.
I have not yet found a clear answer in my mind about the incident, but I hope that I can think about it together with those who watch this film.
