The latest film by Japanese documentary filmmaker Kazuhiro Sôda, Zero is a brilliant and beautiful portrait of psychiatrist Dr. Yamamoto, who retires from his clinic in Okayama after more than
50 years of practice to embark on a new path in life. Leaving his patients after all these years, and devoted to caring for himself and his frail wife Yoshiko and her slow decline from dementia, brings new challenges. His second film on Dr. Yamamoto (a follow-on to Mental, 2008) Soda frames this as an ‘observational documentary’ based on principles including ‘no research’, ‘no script’, and ‘roll the camera yourself’, some of his ‘10 commandments of observational filmmaking’. Moving, raw, and emotional, Zero is an intimate film of deep affection. A portrait of inspiring human experience and a unique insight into an older generation dealing with health and ageing.

This screening will be introduced by Dr. Rebecca Chiyoko King-O’Riain, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Maynooth University, Faculty of Social Sciences.

Notes by Marie-Pierre Richard

Screening as part of the East Asia Film Festival Ireland (EAFFI) 2023.