Final version of film on ex-PM Abe's suspected assassin opens to early queue in Nagoya

NAGOYA -- People lined up here on the weekend for the first screening of the completed version of a film depicting Tetsuya Yamagami, the suspect arrested over the July 2022 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The screening of "Revolution+1" began at Cinema Skhole, a mini theater in Nagoya's Nakamura Ward, on Dec. 24, and people lined up in the snow from early in the morning to buy tickets.

Actor Soran Tamoto, who plays Yamagami in the film, commented, "As an actor, I thought I had a role to play in having the world confront (the assassination), so I decided to appear in the film."

The movie depicts the upbringing of Yamagami, and the events that led to the assassination of the former prime minister. It was directed by Masao Adachi, a former member of the Japanese Red Army, a terrorist organization.

At Cinema Skhole, about 20 people lined up before the commencement of ticket sales from 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 24. Among them was a 57-year-old office worker from Nagoya's Minato Ward who joined the line from 7:30 a.m., apparently after missing out on seeing a mid-production version of the film in September.

"I was interested in it because it focused on a major incident, but tickets were sold out in September, so I came early," he said.

In late September when a state funeral for Abe was held, a 50-minute mid-production version of the film was released in a dozen or so locations across Japan. The screening time of the completed version was extended to 75 minutes.

After the film, actors and others appeared onstage to greet the audience, and they also signed autographs. Director Adachi commented, "I wanted to express what drove the suspect Yamagami to go as far as shooting former Prime Minister Abe and what he was trying to break through. It's a film that closely follows the protagonist, and I think it does more than enough to be easily received as a story of a disintegrated family."

Tamoto, meanwhile, said, "I felt isolated throughout the filming. I keenly felt as I played the role (of Yamagami) that he didn't have anyone around him whom he could talk to."

A 63-year-old man from the Mie Prefecture city of Kuwana who attended the screening of the completed version commented, "The film was very interesting and easy to understand as one way of looking at the incident. It provides the opportunity to think about the case."

Another 75-year-old man from Nagoya's Kita Ward said, "It was easy to understand the anguish of the protagonist and his conflict."

(By Shinichiro Kawase, Nagoya News Center)