I Just Didn't Do It (2006)

A young man is falsely accused of molesting a high-school girl on a train. He is arrested and charged, and goes through endless court sessions, all the while insisting that he is innocent.

Director:

Masayuki Suo

Writer:

Masayuki Suo

Stars:

Ryo Kase, Asaka Seto, Kôji Yamamoto

19 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Ryo Kase	...	Teppei Kaneko (as Ryô Kase)
Asaka Seto	...	Riko Sudo, Lawyer
Kôji Yamamoto	...	Tatsuo Saito
Masako Motai	...	Toyoko kaneko
Kôji Yakusho	...	Masayoshi Arakawa, Lawyer
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Daisuke Honda
Hirotarô Honda	...	Hideo Mitsui
Yosuke Ishii	...	Keizo Hirayama
Toshiyuki Kitami	...	Takashi Miyamoto
Fumiyo Kohinata	...	Shogo Muroyama
Tôru Masuoka	...	Seiichiro Tamura
Ken Mitsuishi	...	Mitsuru Sada
Nao Ohmori	...	Koji Yamada (as Nao Ômori)
Shin'ya Ohwada	...	Toshio Hiroyasu (as Shin'ya Ôwada)
Toshinori Omi

Storyline

An unemployed young man is on the packed Tokyo subway en route to a job interview when a schoolgirl grabs him by the wrist and fingers him as a molester. A man was feeling her up on the train. The young man is arrested and no one, not the station master, the public defender or the police, seems the least interested in his protestations of innocence. It would be much more efficient if he would accept a plea bargain.

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Plot Keywords:

heterosexuality | opposite sex attraction | bacon | japanese schoolgirl | heterosexual | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan] (English)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

20 January 2007 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Even So, I Didn't Do It

Filming Locations:

Tokyo, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Altamira Pictures Inc., Fuji Television Network, Toho Company

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Japan's Official Submission to the Best Foreign Language Film Category of the 80th Annual Academy Awards (2008).

User Reviews

A painstakingly researched film (4 years of research). Worthy of highest praise.

Obviously, this is not an entertainment film, or your typical narrative film, and should not be critiqued at that level. It is most relevant to those living in Japan, or those who have an interest in what the Japanese judicial system is like. Rather, it is an almost documentary-like investigation into the intricacies of the flaws in a judicial system.

What Suo has done here is a public service worthy of the highest praise.

I lived and grew up in Japan for 13 years, and understood that it was not a good thing to get involved in the legal system, but Suo has given viewers a clear understanding of what it is like to be held, accused, and tried for this crime (and indirectly, other crimes). It is pretty much an introduction to Japanese court procedure. This is not something that you get to see on an everyday basis. As Suo is pointing out by making this film, it is something worth trying to understand.

As for the fairness of the Japanese judicial system, the film speaks for itself. I have no knowledge of the Japanese legal system, but what I witnessed when watching this film is the sharpest, cutting social commentary on the incredible and unbelievable flaws in the legal system, and ultimately, its lack of humanity.

Some people have commented that they do not know whether it is an accurate portrayal of the judicial system. It is, although it focuses only on this one case. Suo spent four years of intensive research to make sure that the film was completely accurate. (see: http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070202a6.html and http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ff20070105a1.html)

If you are planning on living in Japan, have lived in Japan, or are living there right now, watch this movie. I am not aware of how the legal system has changed since this movie was made, but you need to understand the flaws of the system which you are a potential victim of, just as the protagonist of this film was. He is just one representation of the many people who have been charged and tried just as he was.