Zero no shôten (1961)

Director:

Yoshitaro Nomura

Writers:

Shinobu Hashimoto, Seichô Matsumoto (novel),

Stars:

Yoshiko Kuga, Hizuru Takachiho, Ineko Arima

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Yoshiko Kuga	...	Teiko Uhara
Hizuru Takachiho	...	Sachiko Murota / Emmy
Ineko Arima	...	Hisako Tanuma
Kôji Nanbara	...	Kenichi Uhara
Kô Nishimura	...	Sotaro Uhara
Sadako Sawamura	...	Sotaro's wife
Yoshi Katô	...	Mr. Murota
Tatsuo Nagai	...	Lt. Kitamura
Mutsuko Sakura
Takanobu Hozumi	...	Mr. Honda
Hisao Toake	...	Saeki
Masao Oda
Takamaru Sasaki
Toyo Takahashi	...	Teiko's mother
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Zenichi Inagawa

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

cyanide | train ride | poisoning | confession | prostitute | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Official Sites:

Home Vision Entertainment (DVD Distributor)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

19 March 1961 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Zero Focus

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shochiku Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Reflected in the car windows when Mrs. Matsura drives away near the end.

User Reviews

Well photographed monotony

This was the first film I had seen by Nomura and constituted a major disappointment. Nomura appears to belong to the static variety of Japanese directors, preferring lingering and beautiful black and white shots over the bravura editing of contemporaries such as Seijun Suzuki or early Kurosawa. This approach really does not fit the material which is a stultifyingly dull and procedural mystery story that at no point rises above the generic, or generates any palpable tension or danger.

A point of comparison would be Rebecca by Hitchcock, mostly because of its focus on coastal scenery and echoes of the past affecting a hurried marriage. But this movie lacks any of the sexual or psychological aspects that make Rebecca so interesting. Some of the dialogue and minor performances are appalling. At one point a coastguard turns to a distraught bereaved wife and advises, straightfaced, "Why don't you walk to Noto cliff, It is very beautiful and a common spot to commit suicide." How did that ever get beyond the editing suite? Even the final exposition is ridiculously forced and overlong that I was tempted to fast forward to the end of the ending. One to miss