| Big Man Japan 大日本人 |
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|---|---|
Japanese poster art |
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| Directed by | Hitoshi Matsumoto |
| Produced by | Akihiro Okamoto |
| Written by | Hitoshi Matsumoto Mitsuyoshi Takasu |
| Starring | Hitoshi Matsumoto Riki Takeuchi Ua Ryūnosuke Kamiki |
| Music by | Tōwa Tei |
| Cinematography | Hideo Yamamoto |
| Editing by | Soichi Ueno |
| Distributed by | Phantom Film Shochiku |
| Release date(s) | Japan June 2, 2007 Hong Kong November 11, 2007 United States May 15, 2009 |
| Running time | 113 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
Big Man Japan (大日本人 Dai Nipponjin) is a 2007 Japanese film written, directed and starring Hitoshi Matsumoto. It was well-received by critics in the U.S., after many months of being shown at various festivals and film events. It has received a "Fresh" score of 78% on Rotten Tomatoes.[1]
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The film takes the form of a mockumentary that follows Masaru Daisato. Through the application of high voltage electricity, Daisato is able to grow to a height of approximately 30 meters. Having inherited from his father the duty of protecting Japan against various giant monsters, Daisato is in employ of a sub-division of the defence ministry called the Ministry of Monster Prevention. Despite his great power, he is regarded as an outcast by his fellow citizens and struggles under the burden of living up to a heroic lineage that increasingly overshadows his own somewhat mediocre accomplishments as a monster fighter. To further complicate matters, he is deeply estranged from his immediate family. By the film’s end, his failures and doubts reach a hallucinogenic apotheosis.
The movie targets many topics: Japanese pop culture, the monster-movie genre, capitalism's excesses and the contemporary entertainment industry, for example. Masaru has an agent who manages his PR and marketing. She scolds him for bungling a fight which causes poor ratings and leases advertising space on visible areas of his body (e.g. He is reminded to make sure that a corporate logo on his chest is visible during a fight, forcing him to release his opponent from a bear hug). Towards the end of the movie his agent is seen to have profited from his efforts and become wealthy while Masaru continues to live in a state of near poverty.
The unnamed documentarian following Big Man interviews fight witnesses, who discuss the battles as if they were the latest episode of their favorite TV show. The movie is free of collateral damage such as civilian casualties or property damage other than being used as a device to allow them to take pointed jabs at Big Man's heroic reputation.
The film's monsters, or daikaiju, are unusual in that they have distinctly human features and do not behave the way that traditional movie monsters are expected to. The female Stink Monster, for instance, challenges Big Man to battle but continues to shout insults at him while avoiding any actual physical contact. The climactic ending scenes are shot in the style of the original Ultraman series.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Hitoshi Matsumoto | Masaru Daisatō/Big Man Japan |
| Riki Takeuchi | Leaping Monster |
| Ua | Manager Kobori |
| Ryūnosuke Kamiki | Child Monster |
| Haruka Unabara | Strangling Monster |
| Tomoji Hasegawa | Interviewer |
| Itsuji Itao | Female Stink Monster |
| Hiroyuki Miyasako | Super Justice's Mother |
| Takayuki Haranishi | Male Stink Monster |
| Daisuke Miyagawa | Super Justice |
| Takuya Hashimoto | Midon |
| Taichi Yazaki | Masaru's Grandfather/the Fourth |
| Shion Machida | Masaru's Ex-Wife |
| Atsuko Nakamura | Bar Proprietress Azusa |
| Daisuke Nagakura | Masaru's Grandfather (young) |
| Motohiro Toriki | Masaru's Father/the Fifth |
| Keidai Yano | Young Masaru |
| Junshirō Hayama | Shintō Priest |
Because of its success in the film festival circuit, it finally received an American DVD release by Magnolia Home Entertainment on July 28, 2009.[2]