Running Time: 90 Minutes
Certification: 12a
To this day, the specter of reality television looms large in the world. It can be entertaining to some, yet there are many examples of shows like Big Brother which used entertainment as an excuse to indulge in humanity's worse elements. A precursor to such shows was Denpa Shōnen, a Japanese series that could turn people into stars overnight, with its most popular segment being A Life In Prizes.
Key to the success of that segment was Nasubi, a man nicknamed that due to others saying that his long face resembled an eggplant. His desire to be part of the entertainment industry resulted in him starring on A Life In Prizes, a victory that occurred due to sheer luck, with the unfolding events making him the focus of Clair Titley's documentary, The Contestant.
Blindfolded and taken to a room containing just a full magazine stand, Nasubi is made to strip naked and stay in the room, where he must only live off the prizes that he wins by entering magazine competitions. The only exception is rice crackers, which the crew feed him until he wins some food. The contest is over once Nasubi wins 1 million yen worth of prizes, meaning he will be able to leave. What he has not been told is that, while he is trapped in the small room naked, starving, and alone for 15 months, Nasubi's days are being broadcast to the Japanese public each week.
Utilizing talking head interviews and footage from the broadcasts (dubbed into English by comedian Fred Armisen), it is abundantly clear how much physical and mental suffering Nasubi went through for the entertainment of 30 million viewers per week. While viewers were glued to this series out of a hope that Nasubi would persevere and succeed in even the smallest of ways, this is overshadowed by the cruelness of the scenario. Architect of this series is Tsuchiya, a producer who believes that the shows are only interesting due to the people, a line that feels like an excuse for what happened. As he claims that Nasubi could have escaped at any time, one wonders if he feels any remorse for what the documentary covers.
As a clip following the show's finale has Nasubi admitting he struggled mentally, it is horrifying to hear an audience respond to an admission with laughter. Any director could have easily left this as a distressing account of a large injustice, yet Clair Titley uses the second half to chart a more hopeful path, as Nasubi utilizes his experiences to help others. The Contestant recounts a horrendous and fascinating story before transitioning towards optimistic aftermath.
The Contestant is available in cinemas now
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