Zero Focus (ゼロの焦点)

SHOCHIKU PRESENTS

My name is Teiko Okazaki.

No, it's Teiko Uhara now.

I got married exactly a week ago.

Two for Kanazawa.

One platform ticket.

That'll be 5,930 yen.

Thank you.

I'm going to shop for a few farewell gifts for clients.

I could have done it yesterday if you had asked.

My husband Kenichi is head of a branch of the Hakuho Ad Agency.

He was promoted to the head office in Tokyo.

And is leaving for Kanazawa to hand over charge of that office

to his successor, Honda.

In short, this is Kenichi's last trip to Kanazawa.

Take a taxi home.

Take the subway to Shibuya first, then catch a taxi.

I know.

Have your mother stay in the apartment while I'm away.

Don't worry about me.

I'll be home on the 12th.

Have a safe trip.

ZERO FOCUS

From a Novel by SEICHO MATSUMOTO

Screenplay by SHINOBU HASHIMOTO, YOJI YAMADA

Photographed by TAKASHI KAWAMATA

Production Design by KOJI UNO

Music by YASUSHI AKUTAGAWA

FEATURING

YOSHIKO KUGA HIZURU TAKACHIHO, INEKO ARIMA

KOJI NANBARA, KO NISHIMURA

Directed by YOSHITARO NOMURA

Destiny works in strange ways indeed.

That again?

You turned down very often

what we thought was a good match.

Then you accepted this offer so quickly.

I worried you so much.

It was worthwhile worrying.

Now that you've gotten married, I feel let down.

But a mother seems to have endless worries.

Why did he stay single until 36?

Stop worrying.

Yes, he may have a lot of experience. I can't change that.

Of course not.

But what kind of man is Kenichi?

It's a first-class ad agency in Japan.

It has some 300 employees, including the branches.

That's wonderful. Here's his picture, Teiko.

Thick eyebrows, a high nose –

Go tend to the shop.

You'll find fault with him.

Well, Teiko, he looks nice.

Branch manager in six years is exceptional.

Will she have to live in Kanazawa?

I don't think so.

Uhara is in Tokyo about 10 days a month on business.

He wants to move to Tokyo anyway.

But a husband who stays away from home so much –

He's an able young man.

We expect great things from him in the future.

You may think this is a cliché,

but hear me out, please.

In the past, we planned to bring him back to Tokyo several times,

but each time he asked us to postpone it.

We asked him why.

He said he wanted to come back after closing more deals.

In fact, he expanded our business greatly since he took that position.

He's a diligent worker,

and his eagerness is recognized by every member of the board.

So I want the bride and her family to be doubly assured.

What I mean to say, in short,

is that I guarantee Mr. Uhara's pay and rank will rise.

What I'm about to say is a business-related matter,

but I think all gathered here tonight are concerned about it.

Mr. Uhara is going to wrap up his duties

as head of the Kanazawa branch

to come back to our Tokyo office.

- When is he coming back? - Day after tomorrow.

I can't read without my glasses.

"I'll return home on the 12th.

All my things may be a nuisance, but leave them for a while."

I didn't realize it'd take so long to hand over responsibility.

Maybe he has to visit old clients.

Come and stay with us, won't you, dear?

I can't. What if we got broken into?

What is it?

Is that you, Mrs. Uhara?

No, no, he hasn't come back. He's still there.

But he wrote me he'd be home on the 12th.

I'm sorry I bothered you.

The second day passed.

The third day passed.

He hasn't? Really?

I was thinking of sending someone to your place.

He's three days late already.

What does the Kanazawa branch say?

They say he left on the 11th as scheduled.

Has such a thing ever happened before?

Has it?

Well, I don't think so.

He'd been traveling so much

that sometimes I didn't even know he'd come back till the next day.

He was quite free and –

You used to envy him, didn't you?

He didn't need excuses to stay out all night playing mah-jongg.

Don't get Teiko worried.

Kenichi is different from my husband. I can't believe they're brothers.

So don't you worry, Teiko.

That boomeranged on me, eh?

I hear Uncle's missing.

Yeah, he is.

What a surprise.

I think he must be busy saying good-bye to lots of people.

He'll come home very soon.

We haven't heard from him in five days,

so we're going to send a man to Kanazawa to investigate.

Won't you go with him?

I don't see any need for it, but we can't be too careful.

Mrs. Uhara.

Telephone.

Thank you.

If it's him, you want to speak with him?

Yes, please.

Not home yet?

What in the world is keeping him?

To Kanazawa?

His boss is here at my place now.

He's sending a man tonight and asked if I'd like to go along.

Really?

I should be the one to go, but I'm busy.

The company's overreacting a bit, asking a family member to go.

It's no trouble at all.

I'd rather go than wait here like this.

You must be worried.

A man's mind can really relax when he's on the road.

I know of a fellow who played mah-jongg at a spa hotel for three days straight

and came home four days behind schedule.

Of course, not your husband.

Have you ever been there?

No, this is my first time.

There are lots of hot springs there.

Yamanaka, Awazu, Katayamatsu.

Where did you go on your honeymoon?

It's not as nice a place as you're imagining, mind you.

But I've always longed to go there.

That's because you're a Tokyo-born girl.

There's nothing there except dark, gray, cloudy sky.

You seldom have a cloudless day.

And out of those dark clouds

comes snow in winter

and a rough sea.

But I want to see scenery like that.

Then I'll take you there.

Say, on a vacation next summer.

Good morning.

Awake already?

Look, that's the Noto peninsula.

It was the first time I'd ever seen it.

Its landscape was so desolate, so tragically lonely and dreary.

I was almost shocked.

KANAZAWA

They're business slips mostly, not yet settled.

That means Mr. Uhara wanted to come back.

What are you saying, Honda?

I took over the office from him by noon on December 11, and he left.

He told me he'd be coming back after a visit to Takaoka City.

- Takaoka? - Yes.

Why didn't you write and say that?

All you reported was that he'd left.

But he never came back here after all,

so I thought he'd gone on to Tokyo via Takaoka.

It's closer to Tokyo, and express trains stop there too.

What does his landlord say?

Mrs. Uhara may think this odd,

but no one knows where he lived for the past 18 months.

What?

Uhara told me it was Tsubata Town,

but an employee who lives there

knew nothing about it.

You mean to say

since his arrival –

He lived in a boarding house for the first six months.

It's been almost a year and a half since he left here.

Where did Mr. Uhara tell you he was going then?

He said nothing at all.

I see.

Don't you know where he is now?

Of course I do. I'm just curious.

Did a moving company take his things away?

I don't remember too well,

but I think he packed by himself and called a taxicab.

Would that mean his new place was within the city?

Not necessarily.

He might've taken his baggage to the train station.

Our employees would have seen him if he was living here.

A year and a half ago? A missing package?

I just want its destination.

- Parcel or baggage? - I'm not sure.

- Date? - I can't say.