Title: Numakage Public Pool
Foreign Title: Same
Year: 2025
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Subtitles English
Director: Shingo Ôta
This wonderful, but sad, documentary directed by Shinga Ota is not the first Japanese film I have seen of district redevelopments in Japan. However, it is unique in how this magnificent pool and site nicknamed “the ocean” in Tokyo’s Numakage neighborhood, affected the local community that it served. We encounter the surprising opening scene of the demolition with massive robotlike construction equipment known as,” Grapple Excavators”, working in tandem pulling down the enormous metal roof and observation towers over the seating area and pool in disbelief. Shinga breaks down the documentary into 5 stages of grief: denial, anger, negotiation, depression and acceptance. The pool is to be replaced with a school
The film then turns back in time, before the demolition, to show the impact the pool had on the community, and what it meant for those who came to the pool over the years. From children learning to swim, to elderly users who came for relaxation, health and exercise and socializing with others. What it meant for the lifesavers who trained diligently to make it a safe place for all and reminded the pool users of the rules and safety precautions. What it meant for the vendors who provided meals and snacks.
We are also treated to some personal interviews including an eccentric couple of scenes about a gay swimmer who is there every day and explains to one of the interviewers that he likes to observe the men in the pool particularly those with a large build.
Safe to say, there are few more similar snippets of humour. We are then moved into the anger phase of interviews with pool users who were not informed properly, nor given time for negotiation and petitions presented in the municipal hearings, with further hearings from the mayor and ministers explaining why they could not build the school elsewhere.
We then move into the depression stage on the final day as everyone who is there faces the fact that the pool will be no more. We witness a speech from the manager, who has been there for many years as he speaks from one of the observation towers about the end of the pool and his time there. He thanks everyone from patrons to the shop owners and the workforce, emotionally breaking down towards the end of his speech.
The documentary closes with the final call for everyone to exit the pool, while the staff prepare for the demolition and final acceptance
A solid documentary with an interesting musical score accompanying the 5 stages, beautifully filmed, and directed.
