A good mystery thriller contains suspense and an interesting premise, but above all the investigation into the riddle at its core must be both enjoyable and gripping to follow. However, it seems obvious many stories of the genre neglect this integral part, resulting in a somewhat flat and often disappointing narrative. When done right, though, the feature or novel may provide an inventive and quite fascinating portrayal of humanity, its good and also its dark aspects. Director Akihiro Toda has had some experiences in the mystery genre with his feature “The Name” and in “Ichiko” he goes even further, experimenting with different time layers to create the portrayal of the central character, her troubled past and her problems in keeping relationships.
Ichiko is screening at Nippon Connection
Based on Toda's play, the story begins in 2015 with Ichiko (Hana Sugisaki) being proposed to by her boyfriend Yoshinori (Ryuya Wakaba). The two could not be happier, or so Yoshinori believes, because the following day, when he comes home to their apartment, he finds his fiance has left him. After a few days with no trace and word from her, he report her missing, with inspector Goto (Shohei Uno) leading the investigation and uncovering some shocking truths for the young man. As he starts questioning every aspect of their relationship and Ichiko herself, he begins investigating on his own.
Upon meeting Ichiko's former friends and colleagues, among them her school mate Satsuki (Chika Oura), her room mate Kiki (Seina Nakata) and her ex-friend Hidekazu (Yuki Morinaga), Yoshinori learns about Ichiko's troubled family, the tense relationship with her mother as well as how she was neglected. What is even more irritating is Ichiko has been using two names, as she also went by the name Tsukiko, which may shed some light into another crime connected to her family.
As you might have guessed from the movie's title, the mystery surrounds the true identity of Ichiko. On the one hand, Naho Kamimura's and Akihiro Toda's script utilizes various flashbacks, to 1999, 2000 and 2008, to name the most important ones, to present the various significant people who know Ichiko and who may unravel part of the mystery. The other part follows Yoshinori's and Goto's investigation, which increasingly feels like the proverbial rabbit hole, as each answer leads to even more questions and options. Throughout the feature, Hana Sugisaki emphasizes each facet of the main character, showing her emotional development and also not giving too much away at once. It is a challenging performance, which she masters quite well, displaying a very unique expressive palette, making “Ichiko” an impressive calling card for the actress.
While the transition from one medium to the other is always risky, in the case of “Ichiko” it shows both sides. Toda makes good use of the different ways to showcase important events, with Kosuke Haruki's cinematography playing a vital part when it comes to presenting something we are not supposed to see and to highlight the voyeuristic tendencies of characters such as Hidekazu, who is easily the creepiest character in “Ichiko”. However, not all of the various segments and side characters will provide the same kind of worthwhile mystery or thrill, making “Ichiko” an overall uneven viewing experience containing some redundancies and also ultimately useless angles.
Overall, “Ichiko” is a fascinating, but also uneven mystery drama, with Hana Sugisaki's performance being the best part of Akihiro Toda's feature.
