COPRODUCED BY JAPAN ART THEATRE GUILD AND SOZOSHA
ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS
PRODUCED BY SOZOSHA
PRODUCERS NAKAJIMA Masayuki YAMAGUCHI Takuji
SCREENPLAY TAMURA Tsutomu
CINEMATOGRAPHY YOSHIOKA Yasuhiro SENGEN Seizo
ART DIRECTION TODA Jusho MUSIC HAYASHI Hikaru
SOUND NISHIZAKI Hideo EDITING SHIRAISHI Sueko
ASSISTANT DIRECTORS OGASAWARA Kioshi OSEKI Daichi
CAMERA ASSISTANCE
ASSISTENT EDITOR, CONTINUITY AND SPECIAL EFFECTS
SOUND EFFECTS AND RECORDING SUZUKI Akira
FATHER WATANABE Fumio
MOTHER KOYAMA Akiko
BOY ABE Tetsuo
YOUNGER BROTHER KINOSHITA Takeshi
DIRECTED BY OSHIMA Nagisa
BOY
I'm calling you to come!
Land here!
Now... I'm "it"
Got to hide now
"On the bridge at Kochi, once there was a priest..."
"He bought a woman's hair pin. Whatever for? Whatever for?"
I’ve caught you!
You’re supposed to cry. Whenever you’re caught you cry
Where are you? All of you?
I’II get you all! Yes, each one of you who’s playing hooky
They’re coming. Father. They’re coming
One more
Two more
The money I’ve been expecting from Osaka just hasn’t arrived yet
That’s all right, You’ve paid regularly so far
Thank you very much
Well, boy, shall we go?
You want Daddy to carry you?
If he sees something sad happening, he’ll start crying
Mother!
It's no good!
The car number was... 41
It’s no good
Want to sit on my lap?
We have to go on trying, we have to!
Pinch me
Pinch my back
Harder... harder
Mother, are you all right?
But I wasn’t speeding, I drove carefully.
You hit her!
I hit her?
Mother’s been hurt
Show me your license
You’re not a policeman
Don’t you have one?
Of course I do!
I’ve never had an accident before
Well... bad luck!
I’m laid up for two weeks
But I can’t stay off my job for two weeks! Impossible!
How am I supposed to look after the kids with a broken hip?
A broken hip?
We’ll know after the X-rays. Then we’ll go to the police
Do we have to?
Well, it’s somebody’s fault, but it’s not mine!
It’s not mine either
We'd better ask them to look into this properly
What are you talking about?
Mother! Are you all right? Does it hurt?
Look, this is my first accident
Couldn’t we sort of settle this between us?
No, don’t do that!
If people like you aren’t caught, there will always be accidents
Will you come over here, please?
Does it really hurt you?
If you get hurt down there, you can’t have babies any more
I can’t eat this. It’s too greasy
Order something else
I don’t feel good. Besides it hurts down there
You can rest for a couple of days
Two weeks. That’s what the doctor said
We have to go on working, we have to
And why don’t you do it?
Me? You know I’m all shot up
Yes... war-wounds, diarrhea and what else?
It’s just right for a goof accident
What are you doing?
Shut up!
Does it taste good?
Eat this too
I don’t want to
Well, you can always go back... to your grandmother’s house
Couldn’t we stop doing this kind of work? I don’t really like it
I don’t like it either, but...
...there seems to be no way for us to go on living together
Be quiet and sit down
You want to go see your real mother?
You know, she’s almost dying
And what would you do in the hospital?
I won’t go
Do you want to go to grandmother’s?
No, I don’t
You see? He’s my child
You don’t have to do it, you know
I can talk to your father
What do you want?
Soup
Don’t be silly!
Two orders of noodles and one soup
That’s mine!
If I’m not working, I’m not hungry
Want to go to the toilet?
Let’s go. You can finish later
I will go to the station to get the tickets
After you finished the job, call the station, and let them page me.
But if...
It's no problem, you will succeed. Anyway, work is work.
I’d better buy new glasses
It isn’t that I don’t want to, but I get scared
I used to be, too
If only we could use magic!
There isn’t any magic
If we were from outer space...
There aren’t any such things
Buy that for me
No taxis and no fast drivers...
...just delivery trucks or woman drivers
Look, sea gulls... sea gulls
Sea gulls...
Yes, sea gulls. They eat fish.
Fish...
Yes, the big ones and the little ones
And the little ones eat seaweed
S-e-a-w-e-e-d
Seaweed...
Look the sea covers the whole world
And on the bottom there are mountains, rivers and roads.
And great big monsters, too.
M-o-n-s-t-e-r-s
Monsters
Their eyes light up and fire comes out of their mouths
But the men from outer space defeat them.
I'm a man from the Andromeda galaxy.
I’ve come to save the world
I look like an ordinary human but...
in reality I'm a man from outer space. From the nebula of Andromeda
Andromeda...
Good! You’ve got it
I’ve come to kill all the bad people who want to destroy the earth
I’m a Messenger of Justice, a cosmic messenger.
We’ve done it seven times so far
Only twice didn't it turn out well
I’ve gotten much better at it
Now I can get hit without getting hurt
The worst is, when the doctors examine me
I always feel they'll know I'm lying
Father taught me how to say "it hurts" while holding my breath
Soon we'll arrive in Onomichi. Shikoku can't be seen anymore.
Mother gives me a hundred yen each time and soon...
... I'll have a thousand yen
Does it hurt?
A little
Boy!
Does it hurt?
You should have been careful!
I am sorry
You’d better stay here and have a thorough examination
But we’re going somewhere. We even have our tickets
Can’t we settle this?
All right. I’II settle for fifty thousand yen... in cash
How can a simple driver like me find fifty thousand yen so easily?
Then we’ll go to the police
All right, let’s go then
Aren’t you sorry you hit our boy like that?
WAIVER OF LIABILITY
Will you have lunch?
None for me
Me neither
Boy?
Later
Call me when you’re ready
Can’t you do anything but yawn?
All right. What?
I don’t know
If I were in Osaka I could play cards
No gambling! We’re not going to waste any money
Who said I gambled?
Go play pachinko
You can’t win on that
It’s no fun not having your own home
What are you talking about? This place is nice enough
Where are you going?
Toilet
Kokura, Wakamatsu, Tobata, Yahata...
It’s all right. Never mind
Aren’t you hungry?
Where is boy?
So he’s run away?
Possibly
He had not enough money so far but you’re the one who gave it to him
But if you’re worried take the money back
I’m pregnant
What will we do?
We can’t do anything about it
Is it all right then?
It’s all right
You mean it?
No, go get an abortion
We can’t go on living like this not with another one
You must get a job
We need a decent room
We must send the children to school
Stop it!
Let’s not rush things
We’ll go on like we have for a while
After all, we’ve saved a little
I wonder what he thinks about it
I meant... about me
You were separated from your parents when you were four, weren’t you?
Yes, my stepmother got married four times
You’ll wake the baby
I hated her. I really thought it was better to be completely alone
Then he’s probably thinking the same
Stop it! Not until we decide whether I can have this baby
Do whatever you want
I want it
But I don’t
Then I’II have an abortion
I’II get a doctor tomorrow?
I won’t do it here
I lived a long time in Fukui I know a good doctor there
Very well. Let’s go to Fukui then
When?
Right now. I’II pay the bill, you go and pack
We don’t have to rush. The boy isn’t even here
You think he ran off?
What if he has?
We’ll think about it later
I’m fed up! Pregnant and all
You’re getting an abortion
When I say no, it’s no
Boy can't run away.
Shit, sure he can!
Go look for him, if you’re so worried!
I'll take the baby and go to the station getting the tickets.
Why do you look like that? You bumped into us
I'm sorry
What do you mean bumping into us like that?
I was reading
Some excuse! You won’t get away with it
I really didn’t mean to
All right then, but you have to give us some... compensation
Compensation?
Yes, money! You hit us and we need some for the hospital bills
One thousand! That’s all?
Just be careful from now on
And don’t you look at me like that!
What are you looking at?
Mother!
Where have you been?
Well, I was...
Running away, weren’t you?
No
You won’t get away so easily
What's the matter?
We’re going away. We have to hurry
My hat...
What about it?
I was drying it
It's junk! Throw it away!
You want to get killed?
How about here?
Wait. Isn’t this too expensive?
We’re going to have the best
Come on, now. Cheer up, we’re going to have a good time
I envy you - all together like this
I wish I had a father like him. Isn’t that true, boy?
Yes
Would you like another song?
Well, let’s see...
What would you like?
How about a popular song?
Where are you from?
From Fukui
Actually, we’re from Kochi
Then we’ll do a Kochi song
"On the bridge at Kochi, once there was a priest..."
"He bought a woman's hair pin. Whatever for? Whatever for?"
"How long it's been..."
"Since I left Kochi..."
"I remember my friends..."
"That day I left"
Even if you go back there, your grandmother won’t be pleased
They were very happy when you left
It’s true. They wrote me that in a letter 295
They’ve forgotten all about you at school
Even your desk is gone now
Understand?
"Since I swore..."
"To serve my country..."
"How can I die vanquished?"
"When I hear the trumpet sound..."
"I remember my country's flag"
"Travelling through the fields..."
"Where trees are burning..."
"My brave horse trotting..."
"Following my flag..."
"How then can I die vanquished?"
"Cannons, tanks, bayonets..."
"All left behind..."
"Last night in a dream..."
"My father said Don't die, son, come back alive..."
"I awoke and saw but the enemy's sky"
DEPARTURES
Some bread, please
Fifteen rolls, please, and five packs of gum 316
One thousand four hundred yen...
...divided by two...
...makes seven hundred
One half-fare to Kochi 320
Which Kochi?
The Kochi in Shikoku
1,500 yen
I’m under twelve, so it’s half-fare
You’re older than that
You’re wearing your school uniform. 1,500 yen!
I’ve only got 1,000 yen
Then you can’t go to Shikoku
Have you run away?
No. I was lying, when I said Shikoku
If you want to lie, go home
I want to go to Amano-Hashidate
Another fib?
It’s true this time
All right then
Two hundred thirty yen
Seven hundred seventy back
Seven, eight, nine... for the third day...
...ten, eleven, twelve... for the fourth day...
Grandmother, here I am. I'm back
See, I'm here
I rode the train for four days and was in the boat all alone
And I only ate bread. I ate fifteen rolls
I'm tired. I'm going to sleep now
Good night
Tomorrow...
...wake me up any time
How much does a doctor cost?
For what?
For that... abortion
About this much
Then an emergency might cost about that much
Today, we’ll get 70,000 yen
We’re getting expensive
That much, right?
I'll go with Mom
All right, go then
Does it hurt?
No. I was just clumsy
You should tell me, if it hurts
Just a little
Good. It’ll look more real and more serious to the doctor
And since it’s swollen, we won’t have to inject anything
It’s hard for you too, isn’t it?
You...
What is it?
Do I still have to go today?
Of course. That’s why we came to Fukui...
...and kept this room
Just don’t look up any old friends
You don't have to tell me. How could I face them?
I'll take the baby to the department store with me
It’ll be over in an hour
Then there’s no work today?
You go with your mother
What do you mean by that?
I'm not so sure that you're really going to a doctor
Why did you come back?
I thought you never would
Why?
I don’t know
But I did come back
Yes, but...
I’ve been to this hospital before
I was with a man. Do you understand things like that?
A little
Now, go play somewhere
For about an hour?
Be back in about two hours
Bastard! You were spying on me. You wanted to tell your father, didn’t you?
Go on, say something
I know, I’m just your stepmother...
...and you hate me. You’re worse than he is!
Come on, say something
I’m sorry
Why apologize? Don’t be such a hypocrite
I know you tell him bad things about me
No, I don’t
You’re lying
All children hate their step-parents
It’s natural that you hate me
You hate me, so you spy on me
Come on, say that you hate me
Do I have to say that?
Well, what does it matter!
I don’t think anything about anything
Stupid boy!
Anything you would like? I’ve got some money
I’d like a watch
A wrist watch?
With the date and the day
That’s expensive
Well, forget it
I’II get you one, but don’t you tell your father then
You really will?
Well... your mother went to the hospital...
...and boy played for two hours in the park
Sure... I played in the park
Don’t show it to him. It’s a secret
What day’s today?
Wednesday
No, Friday. The day after tomorrow is Sunday
Every day’s like Sunday
I’ll leave it on Sunday
You’ll be able to go to school someday
I guess so
You’ll go to school, he'll go to kindergarten and I’II have a new baby
When, though?
Real soon
We’ll work and save as much as we can
We need a lot, right?
Yes, we need a lot
We need a lot, right?
We’ve been to lots of places...
Tsuruga...
... Nishimaizuru...
... Kanazawa, Toyama
If you look at a map, they all are in the Sea of Japan
Father says we're getting more and more experience
Since it really hurts now...
... I don't have to lie to the doctor
Even an ordinary child can say that it hurts...
... when it really does hurt
My younger brother is bigger now
He understands more of what I say now
He always asks me to tell him...
... about the men from outer space
Some of these appear to be old
Have you been hurt before?
It hurts! Stop it!
We’ll take X-rays, but he won’t recover before a month
A month! Look, I didn’t hit him that hard
May I use the telephone?
Give me the police
And you’re not even sorry?
Look, I’m a car mechanic
I know what a car looks like when it’s hit someone
Does it hurt?
Stop it! Taking a sick child out like this... keeping him up so late...
Is this how the police act?
Get things ready
Everything is settled?
He’s paying 60,000 yen! I’II get it at the station
Then there is no rush
Yes. We can’t stay here. The police might call us again
It’s that bad?
Just a hunch. They took our pictures
It’s not the first time
I know. That’s why
Come on, get up
What is it?
Where are we going?
The tickets are for Fukushima
We’ve already passed it
Is that so?
Really, where are we going?
We’ll keep changing trains for two days
You’re joking!
You should know better. You really think I’m joking?
We’ve been photographed before, but...
...that was the second time for me
If they compare them, they’ll know who I am
The same goes for me
Yes, but I’ve got a record
We’re going to stop and change our clothes too
It’s already winter
Can you see?
Yes, I can see
They make you dizzy when you’re not used to them
Do I have to keep them on?
Except when you sleep
They hurt my eyes
Naturally! We bought them for your mother. They wouldn’t fit you
You wear them instead of her
We’re going to stop in a different hotel for a few days
This isn’t getting warm
It’s broken
The heater’s broken! Do you have another one?
No, we don’t. It’ll get warmer after a while
You can have a stove, but you must pay for the charcoal
Where is the telephone?
Over there
Hotel Prince? Room 312, please!
It’s me
Nothing special, but...
Hello...? Hello!
Don’t try too hard now
Mind your own business
You want the stove?
Mother!
What’s wrong
Nothing! Go on back
Thirteenth, fourteenth...
...fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth...
...eighteenth, nineteenth
I won’t show it to him, all right?
It doesn’t matter now
Let's go see your father
Third floor?
Shall I call him?
Daddy!
Be careful, you!
Shall we do it, mother?
Mother!
Are you all right?
Mother!
Are you hurt?
Why do you drive at night?
Thank God, you weren’t hit!
What do you mean? I’m in my fourth month
I’II drive you to the hospital
Not the hospital The police is best
Go call an ambulance
No, get in my car
No, an ambulance
Wait, please!
Perhaps... some money...
Don’t talk like that! It’s not money we want
I know, but really... it would be better if we didn’t go to the police
How much?
I'll give you whatever you want.
You go to the department store and I'll get two hotels
Not the same?
Of course not
Then we’ll do it again tonight
Again?
We did it last night
Boy, you have to wear your glasses.
I made him throw them away
We'll do it together
Go on, get your two hotels. Let's go, boy
I'm still pregnant, you see? I'm going to save money for the baby 554
I'm gonna have that baby! That's why... you idiot!
Let's go, boy
Where to?
Some place in an airplane
An airplane... really?
We’ll be men from outer space!
You want to fly that much?
Then we’re not?
No, it’s true!
Where do you think you're going?
Hokkaido
Even if you say no!
I want to go there, too
Yes, Hokkaido would be all right
Look, clouds... a whole sea of clouds!
And there are monsters in this sea
Bird-monsters, butterfly-monsters...
Monsters...
Yes, monsters
Men from outer space will come flying out of those clouds
They always know right away where the monsters are
They come all the way from Andromeda
...all from Andromeda...
We really went to Hokkaido
I had been brought up in Kochi, and I had never seen snow before
It was white, very white... a whole sea of snow
Hakodate, Iwamizawa, Obihiro...
Kushiro, Abashiri, Asahikawa Wakkanai...
Father had told us not to work, but...
... mother and I did anyway
We worked around the stations
It was too cold to walk far
"Furthest Northern Point"
"Latitude 45°31'"
"Japan's Northern Point"
"Further East: Sea of Okhotsk"
"West: Sea of Japan"
"Meeting of two Seas"
"Sakhalin, 23 miles away, is visible by clear weather"
Come on, eat them
They are made with real sake.
Makes them taste very special.
I wonder if I'll ever come back here
Why not, if we have money
Is this the end of Japan?
Yes, over there it’s not Japan. Why do you ask?
We've gone everywhere - nowhere else to go
Only outer space is left
Let's get an apartment and live decently
You mean it?
We've already made a lot of money
You think that 600,000 yen is that much?
If we get an apartment and buy supplies it'll be gone in three months
But you'll get a job
What do you mean? I’m an invalid...
You knew that from the very first...
I wish Japan were bigger
Stop it! Don't do it now
We've done it for two days now. We should stop for a while...
I'll get a good hotel. We'll have another party
This will kill us, if we go on
It's too late now
No! We'll hide for three months...
It'll work... even if we start again from Kyushu
I've had enough
That's why I'm working so hard now
What are you doing?
All right... I understand. We'll stop
No, it's so dangerous, let's separate for a while. All right?
You've understood that much
Then I'll take the boy
What?
You take the baby
Oh no, you don't!
But it's better this way
You know damn well that me and you are done
We can go on by ourselves
How old are you?
Ten
Where were you born?
Osaka
Whose child are you?
You're mine, aren't you? I'm your father
What are you doing?
Boy!
Mother, let's go
Give that!
Trying to bribe him by giving him watches like this?
Go pick it up!
Pick it up!
What?
Bastard!
Baby!
Let's get out of here!
Boy!
Come, come up here!
Sit over here!
I’ve died once already, in the war
My left shoulder, arm... shattered
And you're saying that you're working? You've never even had a broken arm!
Have you ever thought you'd die?
All you do is bump into a car and then scream
You think I should be grateful for that?
Then you can go on and say that I'm not your father?
You don't know what war is like, do you?
You take a crap and the next minute your head's blowing off
I've been there... moments between life and death
Not only did I see it, it was just like being dead myself
And then you come and say I'm no good?
Nonsense!
Shut up!
Wouldn't you be sorry to leave a husband, a father like me?
Boy... you think you can go on living like this?
Dead... she's dead
In the accident?
Maybe I killed her
Don't think about that!
Throw this crap away!
Idiot!
What do you think you're doing?
Bastard! Why didn't you die in your war?
Father, husband! Some joke!
Just now, you were about to run away!
You're the one who was happy when the boy really got hurt
All right... kill us all!
I'll kill you all right!
You can kill me, but not my unborn child!
You bitch! I'll strangle you... I will!
What's going on?
Nothing
Shall I take the baby?
No, it's all right
So, I'll die then
Good-bye Mother, good-bye Father
Brother!
Go on back now... go on
Brother!
Go back... go on back!
I'm going where no one else but I can go
Brother... brother... brother!
I understand. Don’t cry
You know what this is?
It's not an ordinary snowman It's a man from outer space
Outer space...
That's it. Now watch
You understand now, don't you? He came all the way from Andromeda
Andromeda...
He’s a messenger of justice...
...who came to destroy all bad men
He's not afraid. Not even of monsters
Not even of trains and cars
If he runs into them... they break
He never gets hurt, he never cries
He doesn’t even have any tears
He has no parents, he's all alone
No mother, no father
When he's really afraid, then other outer space men come and save him
I was going to become someone just like him
That's what I wanted
But I couldn't. I’m just an ordinary boy
I don’t even know how to die
You stupid thing... you idiot!
Is it Sunday?
Getting ready for Christmas
The day Christ died?
No, the day He was born
And then we stopped working
We went back to Kochi and then to Osaka
Now we live in a real house
One of those new ones, recently built
COUPLE FAKES ACCIDENTS WITH OWN CHILD EARNS 400000 YEN IN COMPENSATIONS
SUSPECTED COUPLE INDICTED
MOTHER BORN IN OSAKA
COUPLE DISCOVERED THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHIC IDENTIFICATION
From October to December a series of fake accidents happened all over Japan...
staged by a couple, who used their own child to cash in on compensations
The police investigated 16 cases with damages amounting to 747,200 Yen
The culprits are a middle-aged couple with a boy and a baby.
The alleged father, Omura Takeo, 45 years old, was born in Kochi prefecture.
He is jobless and has a criminal record with 3 offences.
Since Dec. 20 he and his accomplices are wanted by Gumma Prefecture Police
Despite his severe injuries the child was taken away by the couple.
Thus the National Police Agency has ordered a nationwide search.
Are you Takeko Taniguchi?
You should never have started using your child
Father, run away!
You had lots of accidents?
Was it your father who told you to do it?
Then your mother?
I like my mother
When did you come to Osaka?
I don't remember
And so, you went all over Japan
I was never on a train
No lies, now. That's bad
This is you here. You have a hat on, though
That's a man from outer space
It must have hurt, getting hit like that
I've never gotten hit
Then how did you get hurt there?
It was just a scratch
Why are you doing this? No one asked you to
The police asked me to
If you're hurt, we'll try to cure you
I'm not hurt
Maybe, but if it got worse we'd have to cut the arm off
All right then, go ahead
Omura Takeo, born in 1922...
Third child of six. Mother and father were fishermen and farmers
Lost his father at the age of five...
At age eleven, went to Osaka...
Committed robbery...
... went to reformatory...
Then joins the army
Wounded in China in 1942...
Ended the war in Okayama Military Hospital
Sold clothes after the war...
In 1953, he married Kazuyo Yamamoto
A son, Toshio, was born in 1956 The child is now 10 years old
Taniguchi Takeko, born in 1939 in Osaka
Adopted at the age of four...
Step-mother twice remarried...
Lived with four different families
1958 married an 18 year old man
Had a child, then returned to Osaka and worked in a cabaret
This is where she met Omura in 1959
Abandoned family and began living with him
In 1963, she had a child by Omura. Child is now 3 years old
Do you like the sea?
And you rode on a plane too
It must have been nice
Yes, I went to Hokkaido
THE END