Dai-Nihonjin

I sat down to watch Dai-Nihonjin (Big Man Japan) without being allowed to see the DVD box. Furthermore, my co-watcher made me look away even as he scrolled through the DVD menu. When I asked if I could have a hint as to the film plot, he scowled at me. He wanted to keep as much as possible left as a surprise for me. 


A surprise it was. Daisato (Matsumoto) is a 40-something year old in Japan, who appears to be almost a tramp. As the camera follows him around, documenting his every day activities, we learn his wife has left him, that he only sees his daughter periodically, and that the work he does pays nowhere near enough for him to live comfortably.  We also learn that he is a sad and confused man, who likes umbrellas and dried seaweed because of their ability to go from small to large.


But then the film takes two turns to the surreal: first we discover Daisato's employment. Next, as we think he might be finally learning to excel at it, we see him strangely miss out on any kind of achievement. Vague? Well, I'm glad I wasn't warned, because the surprise factor in watching this made me cry with laughter. It's totally strange and otherworldly and yet also totally mundane and hilarious, especially as most of the footage is faux-documentary and what we see of Daisato and then what he says clash so obviously that it's hard not to giggle. 


It's also moving; it raises that question as to whether we should be amused by someone so washed up. Does Daisato cross the line from pathetic to hilarious or not quite? Even as we watch and laugh at the larger plot revelations, we discover more about his own life, his relationship with his father and grandfather and the choices he has made that have led him to this deplorable state. It's touching, and the documentary filming technique makes the questions ever so soulless, which in itself adds to the emotion. 


Watch it, but don't read anything about it first.


~~~
2007
Hitoshi Matsumoto
Written and directed by Histoshi Matsumoto