TOKYO (AP) — Naked and frail, a shaggy-haired man films himself as he endures solitude in a tiny room for months, and months more.
“The Contestant,” directed by Clair Titley, explores the story behind the late 1990s hit reality TV show from Japan, “A Life in Prizes,” in which a comedian nicknamed Nasubi is forced to survive on whatever he can redeem from mail-in coupons, as he is denied contact with the outside world.
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2023 and will stream on Hulu from May 2.
Tomoaki Hamatsu — whose nickname “Nasubi,” meaning eggplant in Japanese, refers jokingly to his long chin — never manages to clothe himself and remains naked throughout the show. But he dances to celebrate the things he does obtain, especially food, even if it's just a pot of kimchi.
Canada’s National Post, in a review of Titley’s documentary, described the TV show as “'The Truman Show' meets ‘OldBoy,’” referring to the 1998 American film starring Jim Carrey about a man who unwittingly stars in a reality TV show about his own life and the 2003 Cannes-winning Korean film about an imprisoned man.
The British director Titley said she chanced upon the reality show and reached out to Nasubi because she felt no one had ever told his side of the story.
“I felt that they were kind of dismissive and even derogatory to an extent about, you know, look at those crazy Japanese. And I really wanted to know Nasubi’s story. I really wanted to know what had happened to him, why he’d stayed in there,” she said in a recent Zoom interview with The Associated Press.
What makes her documentary more than a just-for-laughs, big-in-Japan satire are the interviews Titley conducts with Hamatsu’s mother, sister and friend, who express outrage, sorrow, pride and a mix of other emotions as the show grew into a prime-time hit. They said they felt sorry for what he endured, including his nudity.
The film also explores Hamatsu’s childhood experience of being bullied because of his long chin and how he turned to laughter to protect himself.
Hamatsu says the hardest part of the show was the solitude, although being without clothing — and very little food — for a year and three months also took a toll on him. The comedian was moved to tears when he received a standing ovation at a New York screening of the documentary.
“I feel I was able to relay a positive message through the documentary,” he said.
“The Contestant” raises serious questions about how far society might go for entertainment, and the big audiences and money it represents.
The show's producer said in the documentary he just wanted to "capture the moment" and did not mention any reservations about producing the show.
“I think to an extent we are all complicit in these narratives. I think that’s something to be aware of. It’s very easy to stand back and look at all of this, and sort of think, ‘Oh, look at what those producers did.’ But, you know, as viewers we need to take some responsibility,” Titley said.
The film explores the various emotions of being trapped in different ways, including in relationships, hardships or just feelings of meaninglessness.
Hamatsu is from Fukushima in northeastern Japan, which was hit by the March 2011 triple disaster, when a giant tsunami followed a 9.0 magnitude quake and devastated the coastline, setting off the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.
Hamatsu, who still works as an actor, also devotes his time to the reconstruction of Fukushima and raising awareness about the region.
“I want everyone to know the people of Fukushima are working hard,” he said.
“Life is gradually returning to what used to be in the exclusion zones. Of course, I realize the road to decommissioning the nuclear plants is still a long battle. But I would like people to know the Fukushima of today, feel hope by visiting Fukushima and watch Fukushima rebuild."
In a vindication of sorts at the end of the documentary, Hamatsu becomes a climber and conquers Mount Everest, a feat he dedicates to Fukushima.
Many people think the famous show 25 years ago was the high point of Hamatsu's life, since he is not on TV much anymore, he said.
“But it’s just the opposite. That was the worst point in my life. I overcame that. And now I am free to do what I want.”
Yuri Kageyama is on X https://twitter.com/yurikageyama
This image provided by Hulu shows Nasubi in 2021 in a scene from the documentary film “The Contestant.” “The Contestant” directed by Clair Titley, explores the story behind the late 1990s reality show from Japan, “A Life in Prizes,” in which a comedian nicknamed Nasubi is forced to survive on whatever he can redeem from mail-in coupons, as he is denied contact with the outside world. (Hulu via AP)
In this image provided by Hulu, Japanese comedian Nasubi appears on a hit TV reality show in Tokyo in 1998. “The Contestant” directed by Clair Titley, explores the story behind the late 1990s reality show from Japan, “A Life in Prizes,” in which a comedian nicknamed Nasubi is forced to survive on whatever he can redeem from mail-in coupons, as he is denied contact with the outside world. (Hulu via AP)
Palestinians are marking 76 years of dispossession on Wednesday, commemorating their mass expulsion from what is today Israel, as a potentially even larger catastrophe unfolds in Gaza, where more than half a million of people have been displaced in recent days by fighting.
Israel has been pressing its military operations in Rafah, a city along Gaza's southern border with Egypt, and in northern Gaza, where Hamas has regrouped. Around 450,000 Palestinians have been driven out of Rafah over the past week, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said Tuesday. In northern Gaza, Israeli evacuation orders have displaced at least 100,000 people so far.
Some 80% of Gaza's population of 2.3 million Palestinians have fled their homes since the start of the war, with many relocating multiple times.
No food has entered the two main border crossings in southern Gaza for the past week. Some 1.1 million Palestinians are on the brink of starvation, according to the U.N, while a “full-blown famine” is taking place in the north of the territory.
Israel has portrayed Rafah as the last Hamas stronghold, brushing off warnings from the United States and other allies that any major operation there would be catastrophic for civilians.
Seven months of the war have killed more than 35,000 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to local health officials.
The war began Oct. 7 when Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people there, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 hostage. Israel says militants still hold around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.
Currently:
— The Biden administration is sending $1 billion more in weapons and ammo to Israel, congressional aides say.
— Palestinians mark 76 years of dispossession from present-day Israel, a somber Nakba, which is Arabic for catastrophe.
— Some social media users take to a “blockout” of celebrities to pressure them to take a stand over the crisis in Gaza.
— Israelis mark a subdued Independence Day under the shadow of the war in Gaza.
— Amsterdam university cancels classes after violence erupted at a pro-Palestinian rally.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Gaza at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Here's the latest:
CAIRO — Egypt has blasted comments by Israel’s top diplomat in which he blamed the Arab country for the closure of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip.
Egypt has expressed mounting frustration with Israel’s seizure of the Palestinian side of the crossing last week, saying it threatens the two countries’ decades-old peace treaty.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said Israel “is responsible for the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.”
“We reject the policy of distorting the facts,” Shoukry said in a statement on Tuesday, denouncing Israel’s “desperate attempts” to blame Egypt.
He said Israel’s incursion into Rafah was the main reason aid cannot enter through the crossing and called for Israel to allow more aid through its own crossings.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday that there was a “need to persuade Egypt to reopen the Rafah crossing to allow the continued delivery of international humanitarian aid to Gaza.”
“The world places the responsibility for the humanitarian situation on Israel, but the key to preventing a humanitarian crisis in Gaza is now in the hands of our Egyptian friends.”
Egypt has played a key role in mediation efforts aimed at brokering a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and the release of hostages. It has also expressed fears that the humanitarian crisis could send a mass influx of Palestinians across the border into its Sinai Peninsula.
BEIRUT — An Israeli drone strike on a car in southern Lebanon has killed a local Hezbollah commander, the militant group said Wednesday.
The Israeli military released a video of the strike along a main road near the southern port city of Tyre, saying that the Hezbollah commander had planned and carried out several attacks against Israel.
Hezbollah said 55-year-old Hussein Makki was killed late Tuesday without, giving further details. Lebanon’s emergency responders said the strike also wounded two people who were taken to a hospital. They said a fire that broke out as a result of the strike was extinguished and that the body of one person was recovered at the scene.
Since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct. 7, Hezbollah has launched near-daily attacks on Israel, drawing return fire. Israel’s military has managed to kill a number of local Hezbollah commanders.
Israeli airstrikes and shelling, mainly in southern Lebanon, have killed nearly 400 people, most of them militants, but also more than 70 civilians and noncombatants. In Israel, the violence has left at least 15 soldiers and 10 civilians dead.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a speech on Monday reiterated his group’s stance that it would keep up its strikes until Israel ends the war in Gaza.
JERUSALEM — The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees says Israeli protesters have again set fire to the perimeter of its headquarters in east Jerusalem.
Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini wrote on the social media platform X that “Israeli children and young people” had orchestrated an “arson attempt” on the facility on Monday night.
He shared video footage from Israeli media appearing to show small brush fires along the perimeter of the compound. Adam Bouloukos, an UNRWA official, said staff were present in the facility but no one was injured.
UNRWA spokesperson Juliette Touma said the compound had just reopened after a previous round of demonstrations outside the facility last week. Young protesters had twice set fire to the perimeter and hurled stones at UNRWA staff attempting to put out the blazes.
Touma said the compound is staying open for now.
The demonstrations began after Israel accused UNRWA, the largest provider of humanitarian aid to Gaza, of having links to Hamas and other Palestinian militants. UNRWA denies the allegations. An independent investigation found that the agency had “robust procedures” to ensure its neutrality but that there were some gaps in implementation.
BEIRUT — The leader of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group and a visiting Hamas official on Wednesday discussed the latest round of cease-fire talks but vowed to keep up the attacks and pressure on Israel.
The Hezbollah-run Al-Manar TV said the militant group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and Hamas' Khalil al-Hayya also talked about so-called “backup fronts” — a reference to Hezbollah's attacks on Israel along the Israeli-Lebanon border, as well as strikes and attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels toward Israel.
The TV station said the two pledged to keep up the pressure in order “to achieve the honorable goals” set out by Hamas' unprecedented Oct. 7, attack on southern Israel that triggered the ongoing war.
Palestinians pray by the bodies of people killed during Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, next to the morgue in Deir al Balah, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Displaced Palestinians arrive in central Gaza after fleeing from the southern Gaza city of Rafah in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, on Thursday, May 9, 2024. Palestinians on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, will mark the 76th year of their mass expulsion from what is now Israel. It’s an event that is at the core of their national struggle, but in many ways pales in comparison to the calamity now unfolding in Gaza. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians look at the destruction after an Israeli strike on a school run by UNRWA, the U.N. agency helping Palestinian refugees, in Nuseirat, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians look at the destruction after an Israeli strike on a school run by UNRWA, the U.N. agency helping Palestinian refugees, in Nuseirat, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians rescuers dig around the body of man in the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Nuseirat, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - A Palestinian holds the body of a dead baby rescued from the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Nuseirat, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians displaced by the Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip walk along a beach of Mediterranean Sea at a makeshift tent camp in Deir al Balah, Monday, May 13, 2024. Palestinians on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, will mark the 76th year of their mass expulsion from what is now Israel. It's an event that is at the core of their national struggle, but in many ways pales in comparison to the calamity now unfolding in Gaza. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
