Zero Focus
Zero Focus (ゼロの焦点, Zero no shōten) is a 1961 Japanese crime drama film directed by Yoshitarō Nomura, and co-written by Shinobu Hashimoto and Yoji Yamada. It is based on the novel of the same name by Seichō Matsumoto.[2][3] A remake of the film was released in 2009.
| Zero Focus | |
|---|---|
![]() Theatrical poster  | |
| ゼロの焦点 | |
| Directed by | Yoshitaro Nomura | 
| Written by | |
| Based on | Zero no shōten by Seicho Matsumoto  | 
| Produced by | Ichinosuke Hozumi | 
| Starring | Yoshiko Kuga | 
| Cinematography | Takashi Kawamata | 
| Edited by | Yoshiyasu Hamamura | 
| Music by | Yasushi Akutagawa | 
Production company  | |
| Distributed by | Shochiku | 
Release date  | 
  | 
Running time  | 95 minutes[1] | 
| Country | Japan | 
| Language | Japanese | 
Plot
    
One week into newlywed Teiko Uhara's marriage, her husband, ad agency manager Kenichi, leaves on a short business trip to Kanazawa and doesn't return. With a pair of old photographs she found among his belongings, Teiko travels across Japan to search for him, first with the help of her husband's employer, later on her own. After a series of mysterious deaths, including a reception girl of the agency's Kanazawa branch, who turns out to be Kenichi's common law wife, and Kenichi's alleged suicide, all clues lead to Sachiko Murota, wife of a wealthy business partner of her husband. Teiko confronts Mrs. Murota and blames her for murdering Kenichi and everyone who knew of her past as a prostitute in the post-war era. Yet, as Mrs. Murota's confession reveals, the truth is even more complex than that.
Cast
    
- Yoshiko Kuga as Teiko Uhara
 - Hizuru Takachiho as Sachiko Murota / Emmy
 - Ineko Arima as Hisako Tanuma / Sally
 - Koji Nambara as Kenichi Uhara / Masuzaburo Sone
 - Kō Nishimura as Sōtarō Uhara
 - Yoshi Katō as Gisaku Murota
 - Sadako Sawamura as Sōtarō's wife
 - Takanobu Hozumi as Mr. Honda
 
Awards
    
- 1961 Blue Ribbon Award for Best Supporting Actress (Hizuru Takachiho)[4]
 
Legacy
    
Seicho Matsumoto's novel was again adapted in 2009 by Isshin Inudō with Ryōko Hirosue as Teiko Uhara.[2]
References
    
- "Zero Focus". Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese). Retrieved 1 February 2021.
 - "ゼロの焦点とは (Zero Focus novel)". Kotobank デジタル辞典 (in Japanese). Retrieved 1 February 2021.
 - "ゼロの焦点 (101st anniversary of film director Yoshitaro Nomura)". Cinenouveau (in Japanese). Retrieved 1 February 2021.
 - "12th Blue Ribbon Awards" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
 
