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

---

Plot Keywords:

cyanide | train ride | poisoning | confession | prostitute | 

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

---

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

Snowy Hitchcockian thriller

Teiko Uhara is a dowdy young woman delighted at finally catching the man of her dreams, Kenichi, after a whirlwind romance her and her new man marry. As Kenichi has just received another big promotion in work, he is called away immediately before they can have a proper honeymoon, he promises to be back in a few days. The days pass and there is no sign of her husband returning, Teiko contacts her husbands employers, who say he has already left for home some time previously. Teiko begins to worry for her husbands safety and decides to travel north to Kanazawa to track him down.

Zero Focus is very taut thriller, that just screams of Hitchcock, the plot, the noirish visuals and even the score would all be very much at home in Hitch's repertoire. Nomura pieces together a convoluted script into a mesmerizing tale of hidden identities, murder and prostitution from which Teiko cannot escape. With only a couple of photos from her husbands belongings to go on, Teiko's investigation takes her into the snowy wastelands of the north, a slightly backward coastal area where ragged cliffs act like a magnet to those with suicidal tendencies and provide the viewer with memories of Rebecca. Its into this that quiet city girl Teiko is thrown, with these paltry clues she endeavours to unravel the tragedies of Kanazawa.