Sean McAllister → Japan: A Story of Love and Hate

Japan: A Story of Love and Hate

Naoki 56, had it all in Japan's bubble economy days: he ran a business with 70 staff, drove a brand new BMW, and lived in a 6 bedroom house. But when Japan's economy crashed in the early 1990's he lost everything, ending up divorced (for the third time) and penniless.

He was saved from being homeless by his new girlfriend, Yoshie 29, who took him in, despite living in a tiny one-room apartment with no windows.

At his age, the only job Naoki can find is part-time at the post office. Here, part-time means working 7 hours a day and earning just £4,000 a year. Yoshie now has to find extra jobs to support him: working 15 hours a day in 3 jobs.

Each evening Yoshie leaves Naoki at home to do the housework and heads to a sleazy chat bar, where she is paid to drink, flatter and flirt with married men. Sometimes she comes home drunk and teases Naoki about his poor income. After taking her nightly dose of sleeping pills, she cannot remember anything.

Naoki sees his relationship with Yoshie like father and daughter. He admits since losing his business he has lost his confidence and his ability to have sex with Yoshie. Their life is a love story of survival in the world's second richest economy.

Awards/Nominations: Japan: A Story of Love and Hate

Honolulu International Film Festival, Honolulu, Hawaii >>> Gold Kahuna Award for Excellence in Filmmaking
Flahertiana 2009, Perm, Russia >>> Special Jury Mention
Ismailia International Festival for Documentary & Short Films, Giza, Egypt 2009 >>> Best Documentary
YIDFF 2009, Yamagata, Japan 2009 >>> Special Prize
YIDFF 2009, Yamagata, Japan 2009 >>> Citizens' Prize
DOCBOAT Nonfiction E-Fest, Warsaw, Poland 2009 >>> Grand Prix Vistula River
The Norwegian Documentary Film Festival, Volda, Norway 2009 >>> Best International Documentary
Nodo Doc Fest, Trieste, Italy 2009 >>> Special Jury Prize

For more information regarding Sean's awards for filmmaking you can visit his 'Awards' page

Reviews: Japan: A Story of Love and Hate

© John Preston, The Telegraph, 03/04/09 → There are, of course, many ways to attract viewers' attention in television documentaries. Of these, weepingly begging for sympathy has rather fallen out of vogue. But Sean McAllister, I suspect, is on a mission to change that... Read more

© Sam Wollaston, The Guardian, 31/03/09 → ...And this is a brilliant, original film. Man, is it depressing, though... Read more

© Andrew Billen, The Times, 31/03/09 → BBC Four's Japanese season is proving that there are right and wrong ways to scrutinise a thus supposedly inscrutable nation. Two weeks ago Marcel Theroux showed us the wrong way, bouncing off in wide-eyed search of the spiritual concept of Wabi Sabi and coming back with the news that it was all very Japanese and unknowable... And last night Sean McAllister showed us the right way... Read more

© Paul Whitelaw, The Scotsman, 31/03/09 → This was an exemplary film, featuring perhaps the most eye-opening depiction of modern Japan I've ever seen.... Read more

© Hannah Pool, The Guardian G2, WATCH THIS 30/03/09 → She takes a "calm down" pill every night; he thinks of suicide. Their troubled relationship makes compelling viewing.... Read more

© Simon Horsford, The Telegraph, THE ONE TO WATCH 30/03/09 → The film-maker Sean McAllister wanted to discover what made Japan tick, but it took him two years to stumble upon the perfect subject: 56-year-old Naoki.... Read more

© Ian Johns, The Observer, PICK OF THE DAY 29/03/09 → a strikingly frank portrait of Japan's "working poor"... Read more

© Will Hodgkinson, The Guardian, PICK OF THE DAY 28/03/09 → In being a portrait of a couple as well as the impossible pressure of Japanese culture, McAllister's film is compelling... Read more

© Radio Times 28/03/09 → This extraordinary documentary moves away from the neon showboating of Tokyo to a small rural town that's home to Naoki, a charming 56-year-old divorcee whose businesses failed in the crash of 1992... Read more

© FourDocs 12/11/08 → How to make a film using Sean McAllister's tried and perfected method:
1. Head to a hostile environment to report on an important political issue
2. Brutally collide camera lens with your topic head on... Read more

© SIDF 2008 → 'British documentary's sinner and saint, Sean McAllister, again offers extraordinary access and returns with an absorbing a portrait of inescapable contradictions, of life and the narrow lines love and hate share'

Links: Japan: A Story of Love and Hate

The Internet Movie Database | FourDocs | BBC Four : Hidden Japan | The Scotsman | The Times | The Guardian | The Telegraph

Images >>> Click on a thumbnail for a larger version - users with a 'dial-up' internet connection may experience a short delay