MOVIE OF THE WEEK October 25, 2024: BLACK BOX DIARIES
Black Box Diaries — Japanese journalist Shiori Ito’s documentary about her investigation into her own traumatic sexual assault — is as inspiring as it is harrowing. With determination, focus, and persistence, she becomes a virtual one-woman #MeToo movement, refusing to back down or give up until the flawed Japanese legal system does its job and her rapist faces consequences for his actions, no matter how many friends he has in high places.
Ito’s ordeal began in 2015, when she was an intern at Thomson Reuters and met well-known Japanese TV journalist Noriyuki Yamaguchi, who arranged a “meeting” to talk about her career that unexpectedly turned into a one-on-one bar meet-up. According to Ito, Yamaguchi spiked her drink and then took her, so altered that she couldn’t stop him or even remember what happened, to a hotel room and raped her. Once she realized, horrified, what had taken place, she tried to report him to the police, but a combination of Japan’s grossly outdated sex crime laws and Yamaguchi’s close relationship with then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe left the perpetrator virtually untouchable.
Over the course of the film, Ito documents her many efforts to find out what exactly happened to her (security camera footage of Yamaguchi pulling her out of a car against her will, when she can barely stand, is heartbreaking). She also repeatedly pressures the police to hold Yamaguchi accountable — and lawmakers to believe victims. But few are inclined to listen to her, especially after Yamaguchi completely denies her accusations, and even most of those who believe her aren’t willing to risk going against such powerful men. But Ito doesn’t give up, eventually writing the book, Black Box, that would ultimately lend its name to this film.
Even that, of course, garners backlash (how dare someone like her make trouble for someone like him??), as well as fear of serious reprisal. But there are moments of triumph, humor, and joy as well, and Ito’s skills as a journalist are impressive. She also does a good job of creating tension and interest in situations that might not seem especially cinematic on their face (phone conversations, legal proceedings, etc.) and working around limitations that were placed on her related to when and where she could film. The result is a raw, authentic examination of trauma and perseverance.– Betsy Bozdech
Team #MOTW’s comments:
Pam Grady: First-time filmmaker Shiori Itô turns her camera on her own story in depicting how she became the face of Japan’s #MeToo movement, forcing that country to reckon with how antiquated sexual assault and consent laws let women down. In 2015, she was a Reuters intern invited to dinner by Noriyuki Yamaguchi, a celebrated veteran journalist and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s personal biographer. During the evening, he drugged and raped Itô. In pursuing a case against him, she faced threats, and it appeared the assault would be covered up. But Ito persisted, turning investigator herself in her zeal to see the truth exposed and justice done. Vilified in some quarters and lauded in others, she becomes a voice for so many of her countrywomen whose experiences have been too often minimized or denied. And while Itô’s case is wrapped up in the specifics of the Japanese justice system, her assault and the pains taken to protect the perpetrator will be familiar to victims around the world. This is a powerful documentary.
Nell Minow: When Shiori Itô was raped by a powerful journalist, the Japanese laws governing sexual assault were 110 years old. The police told her there was not enough evidence to arrest him. People around her advised her not to pursue it. But she had a press conference to accuse him, she wrote a book about her experience, and now she has made this film, both as personal story and as journalism, and the documentary succeeds in both categories, leaving us moved by her determination to make sure that future women who are assaulted will not be assaulted a second time by the failure of the justice system.
Leslie Combemale The term Black Box refers to the way the police spoke of her case, that is was a “black box”, untouchable and impossible to prosecute. The film is based on Ito’s memoir of her experiences, which she called Black Box: The Memoir That Sparked Japan’s #MeToo Movement. Both the book and the documentary represent the best case scenario of how one brave woman had a far-reaching impact, turning something awful into something that changed her own society for the better. Read full review.
Jennifer Merin Black Box Diaries is a most compelling first person true crime documentary in which Japanese journalist and filmmaker Shiori Ito becomes a warrior for justice as she investigates her own sexual assault and demands punishment for the predator, a highly esteemed and powerful Japanese journalist with close ties to the Japanese Prime Minister. The story is gripping. The documemtary is beautifully crafted. With inspiring fortitude, smarts and skills, Ito delves deeply into all the emotional and procedural complexities faced by victims of sexual assault. Her work demands our recognition.
Loren King Combining aspects of criminal investigation, police procedural, and a deeply personal account of her sexual assault at the dawn of the #MeToo movement, Japanese journalist Shiori Ito’s extraordinary verite documentary Black Box Diaries succeeds as an expose by any standard. That it is also Ito’s personal manifesto and authentic reckoning makes this unique autobiographical documentary even more of a revelation. Read full review.
Liz Whittemore In Black Box Diaries, journalist Shiori Itō documents her sexual assault investigation in Japan. The perpetrator in question, Noriyuki Yamaguchi, is a high-profile journalist and a friend of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. After law enforcement initially eschews her claims due to “lack of evidence,” Itō decides to go public as a reclamation of power and journey towards societal justice. The film begins with a much-appreciated trigger warning. Handwritten diary entries scrawled across the scene are powerful and informative transition devices. Itō utilizes a mix of interviews with witnesses and covertly recorded audio with investigators. While you listen, a litany of red flags will make you want to scream into the void. The security footage is viscerally disturbing for SA survivors. Black Box Diaries gives audiences a comprehensive picture of enduring PTSD. Witnessing Japan’s women rally around Shiori, you cannot help but compare to Christine Blasey Ford when she stepped into the public eye to tell the world about Brett Kavanaugh. The retaliatory behavior, intimidation tactics, and vocal online backlash are only a few of the reasons women fear coming forward. Black Box Diaries speaks to power dynamics, patriarchal structure, and all the reasons the #MeToo movement exists. When one of us wins, we all win.
Cate Marquis The documentary Black Box Diaries tells Japanese journalist Shiori Ito’s own story of fighting to hold accountable the well-connected, senior journalist who raped her. Although the assault took place in 2015 and we pick up Shiori’s battle in 2017, when she tries again to have her attacker criminally charged, law enforcement’s dismissive attitudes to women, antiquated laws, and even the public’s victim-blaming feel more like something from the early 20th century. Heartbreaking, hard to watch at times and infuriating by turns, Black Box Diaries proves ultimately inspiring and rewarding as it follows one determined woman’s call for justice for herself and other victims of sexual assault in Japan.
TRAILER
FILM DETAILS:
Title: Black Box Diaries
Director: Shiori Ito
Release Date: Octpber 25, 2024
Running Time:
Language: Japanese with English subtitles
Screenwriters: Shiori Ito (documentary)
Distribution Company: MTV Documentary Films
AWFJ Movie of the Week Panel Members: Sandie Angulo Chen, Betsy Bozdech, Leslie Combemale, Nikki Fowler, Pam Grady, Loren King, Cate Marquis, Jennifer Merin, Nell Minow, Sherin Nicole, Liz Whittemore
Other Movies Opening This Week
Edited by Jennifer Merin
