Identified in the opening credits as Kazuhiro Soda's Observational Film #6, this lengthy documentary records—fly-on-the-wall style—the day-to-day operation of a family-owned shellfish processing plant in the coastal community of Ushimado located in southwestern Japan. The underlying theme here concerns how both the business and the surrounding society are changing in the face of globalization, as the number of mom-and-pop firms in the region has fallen drastically. Hirano, the elderly owner whose son expresses no interest in taking over the business, is forced to bring in a manager from outside: Watanabe, who had to leave his hometown as a result of the tsunami tied to the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Watanabe takes over an operation that is virtually pre-industrial, with workers using knives to shuck and clean the oysters before loading them onto delivery trucks. Since the local population is aging and young people—like Hirano's son—are abandoning the trade, there is increasing dependence on foreign workers from Vietnam and China. Rather than offering statistical analysis of these changes, Soda lets the offhanded observations of the workers get the point across. Although one segment concerning an employee who has to be rescued by a passing fisherman after tumbling off a dock adds a touch of excitement, most of the film has a languid pace. But despite Soda's tendency to linger on shots, he also has a keen eye, making this socioeconomic portrait of a people in flux a strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)
Oyster Factory
(2015) 145 min. In Japanese w/English subtitles. DVD: $59.95 ($250 w/PPR from edu.passionriver.com). Passion River (avail. from most distributors). Volume 32, Issue 5
Oyster Factory
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