As one examines the abundance of cultures worldwide, to see the marginal way women continue to be treated on a global scale remains infuriating to take in during the era of #MeToo and the fact that seemingly little progress has been made even as our society makes its way into 2024. Though gains can undeniably be acknowledged on the political front and numerous other fields, it’s still apparent that an ocean exists in the way of real change, with “Black Box Diaries” a stunning example of the heavily outdated customs in which parts of our minuscule planet find themselves stuck and the women who suffer as a direct result.
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“Black Box Diaries,” tells the story of Japan-based journalist Shiori Ito, who in 2015 was raped by prominent journalist Noriyuki Yamaguchi, he himself a friend of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and all occurring during a time when several laws in place helped to ensure Yamaguchi would never see arrest and hold firm to the belief that he had done absolutely nothing wrong. It’s clear, almost immediately, that Ito’s ultimate goal is that of closure; her quest, shown onscreen from when she was 27 to age 33, simultaneously involves publicly naming her attacker, authoring a book sharing the name of the film and working with her legal team in an effort to bring Yamaguchi to justice. It’s an uphill battle, to be sure; though armed with her share of supporters, glimpses into the subsequent court proceedings and Ito showing hate mail she’s received that even go so far as to defend the men at the center of it all serve to hammer home the extreme difficulty and emotional swamp Ito attempts to navigate to the best of her ability.
This is far from a slick Hollywood documentary; primarily shot by what can be assumed are phones and various handheld cameras, the film shifts between semi-frenetic moments as Ito hurries off to meetings with her legal team to pauses in the action as she spends time with sympathetic friends or speaks her thoughts directly into the camera. Let it be said that she remains articulate throughout, especially when interviewing anyone who may have witnessed the event or been involved in some way. Her motivation in this regard shows the clearest in a particularly eye-catching moment when she sprints after a fleeing vehicle containing Itaru Nakamura, the lead investigator who played a significant role in removing another detective who had, up until that point, been an ally of Ito and key aide in her plight.
It’s not an entirely cloudy journey; upbeat scenes show Ito enjoying dinner with friends, happily taking in semi-ironic listens to “I Will Survive, “and even purchasing a wiretap detector while realizing the nonchalant way in which she’s obtaining such a clandestine item, but said moments are short-lived as Ito learns of the closure of the criminal case, the pivot into a civil suit and the film’s recurring glimpses of surveillance footage from the night at the center of it all that bring any joy back down to earth. Unfortunately, though it does lead to a successful end, it’s not hard to predict where the men around which the film revolves would eventually wind up, and it’s as disappointing as expected.
However, Ito’s presence propels the film; her passion, vulnerability, and resilient strength are the film’s most compelling components, as they should be, and it’s hoped that the closure she’s pursued finally found its way to her. It’s a captivating quest that only heightens the need for those in power to take action and change the customs that allow these men to go about their lives without any thought as to the consequences of their actions. In this day and age, “Black Box Diaries” is as important a film as has ever existed, and as far as being a film all should watch, it feels essential. [A]
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