- Director
- Shiori Ito
- Rating
- n/a
- Running Time
- 104 minutes
- Release Date
- n/a
Overall Score
Rating Summary
This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Hot Docs Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.
Trigger warning: This capsule review may feature sensitive language and triggering topics for some readers.
In May 2017, Japanese journalist Shiori Ito held a press conference in Tokyo. She invited numerous colleagues in the industry to publicly state she suffered a rape. The assaulter was Noriyuki Yamaguchi, chief of the Tokyo Broadcasting System. He was publicly known as a close friend of Shinzo Abe, then Japan’s first minister. Spanning approximately five years, Black Box Diaries is a personal open letter from Ito about what happened. Audiences see her fight for justice, her mental struggles, and how patriarchal Japan still is when it comes to solving rape charges.
Through handwritten excerpts shown on screen, audiences get a glimpse of her journal writings during that particular period. Besides being part of a record of her mental state, the lettering also works as a visual companion to some hidden recordings shown. One can’t help but feel close to her because of the sheer vulnerability on display. She is not ashamed of filming herself struggling or having panic attacks. While it makes for a tough watch, it also one that serves as a powerful report of a still stigmatized issue.
In a mixed approach of a personal and a journalistic documentary, Ito knows how and where she wants to take audiences. She uses security camera material, house of representative sessions, and article readings to provide some context into Japanese society. With these extracts, the film sheds a light on how antiquated their sexual crime legislation is. Japanese laws serve and continue to protect the husband, guaranteeing a state of submission. All these passages aggregate much impact in the film and are sure to make anyone empathize even more with Ito.
Black Box Diaries is a tough watch. It features plenty of triggering sequences as it unveils how hypocritical society still is. Ito’s history became public at the same time as the #MeToo movement, and she is considered the face of Japan’s movement. Both events highlighted the importance of speaking out, but also, offering enough state structure to punish the abusers. It’s been seven years and few people have been penalized for most violence. However, there is hope that films like this can remind people around the globe of the importance of speaking out.
As the credits roll, Black Box Diaries is a strong viewing experience that should be watched and discussed widely. A great film.
still courtesy of Hot Docs
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Brazilian film writer. He is also a producer and executive producer for Zariah Filmes. Member of the International Film Society Critics Association (IFSCA), International Documentary Association (IDA), and Gotham and Media Film Institute.