By jasper 
Directed by Sho Miyake, known for “And Your Bird Can Sing”, this film topped the 2022 Japan Film Critics Awards. Although it wasn’t part of the main competition at last year’s Berlin Film Festival, it has garnered significant acclaim and developed a strong reputation.
After a year, this Japanese film can now be seen online. We chose to recommend it today because March 8th belongs to all women, and we need a truly female-centric movie.
Japanese cinema has long had films like “100 Yen Love,” which tells the story of a female boxer, but “Keiko, Gazing” will bring viewers a completely different experience.
It hardly belongs to the familiar genres of Japanese cinema and features an unconventional ending.
What can boxing bring to a woman? Is it for self-defense or to vent suppressed emotions?
“Keiko, Gazing” is based on the true story of Keiko Ogasawara, a former professional boxer with hearing impairment, whose story dates back ten years.
After taking over the film, director Sho Miyake decided to change the time and setting, placing Keiko and the boxing gym in the context of the pre- and post-pandemic era.
Thus, Keiko fights in an empty ring with no audience, and the boxing gym chooses to close down—scenes that easily resonate with viewers.
However, this choice made filming even more challenging. Shooting during the pandemic was like walking a tightrope, with crew members experiencing much greater emotional turmoil than expected.
In fact, before making this film, Sho Miyake had never been interested in boxing.
He didn’t understand why people were drawn to a sport where they beat each other up, getting bruised and battered just for the title of champion.
But after starting his own boxing training, he discovered that boxing is connected to the mysteries of life.
Sho Miyake believes that the most exciting core of it is a question: “Why do we strive so hard to live?”
Keiko has a hearing impairment and cannot react immediately to her surroundings. Yet she trains daily at a small boxing gym and attempts to compete as a professional boxer.
Training must be tedious; the opening series of close-up shots of training in the gym already illustrate this point. There’s very little “talk,” only “do,” and even techniques come from repetitive practice.
Keiko’s work and life are equally monotonous; her motivation for boxing isn’t about proving her abilities through competition or gaining attention and wealth.
So why endure such hardship?
Keiko’s first major mental crisis came after winning a match. Ironically, she finally achieved her goal of becoming a professional boxer in her twenties but ended up feeling lost.
Her mother said: “Isn’t this enough?”
For onlookers, “winning” means you don’t have to do it anymore; if you “lose,” it means you’re not suited for it.
Afterward, Keiko gradually saw crises around her. Daily life was no longer purely training time but filled with many struggles.
The boxing gym closed down; the coach fell ill; trainees quit; some were willing to sacrifice their time and energy for Keiko’s sake.
But even winning another match couldn’t sustain Keiko’s motivation; unexpressed emotions accumulated in her heart.
The plot of “Keiko, Gazing” is not complicated and lacks intense competition. It progresses through daily life with almost no twists around winning or losing.
So why is this film moving?
Because it shows us a complete Keiko.
Sho Miyake did not shoot scenes from Keiko’s teenage years nor focus on common challenges faced by deaf individuals.
Of course, we see Keiko’s hardships in life.
To avoid more complex communication, Keiko takes out her own bag after paying at convenience stores and doesn’t apply for membership cards.
When she accidentally knocks over something belonging to a stranger, she hurriedly escapes without noticing that the faucet is still running—a small yet significant detail.
Despite many inconveniences, she is familiar with this way of life and does not feel inferior because of it. It’s hard for viewers to see sentimental pity through Sho Miyake’s lens.
Meanwhile, Keiko can skillfully manage everything she has. At work, she is someone who can offer help. After each training session, she communicates about boxing techniques via phone and constantly reviews them.
There’s a scene in the film where Keiko chats freely using sign language with two friends at a café. Notably, this segment has no subtitles.
Sho Miyake places us at an adjacent table in the café rather than forcing us to eavesdrop on what they are saying with their hands.
But Sho Miyake also had them read scripts carefully to understand how this group would realistically react in various situations and ensured reasonable sign language expressions.
Compared to dialogue lines, actions are more important elements in this film; interactions through actions also carry special significance.
Sign language involves not just hand movements but also mouth movements and facial expressions.
Sho Miyake believes that both boxing and sign language share one commonality: facing your immediate counterpart directly.
People without hearing impairments can listen while facing away from others; however,
Keiko’s communication space must be face-to-face.
This aspect changed not only actors’ thinking but also influenced how scenes were made.
If portraying a character merely aims at showing audiences how different she is from normal people,
then simply demonstrating how she cannot hear would suffice.
However,
“Keiko,
Gazing”
endeavors
to prove
that
Keiko
can
“hear”
and receive messages from
the world—in
her own way—and
this proof becomes crucially validating.
Actress Yukino Kishii,
who plays
Keiko,
first appeared
in films back
in 2009;
she has been acting
for quite some time now.
She heard about
this project while filming morning drama series “Manpuku” (まんぷく) at an Osaka café.
Joining
the crew,
she initially didn’t know how physically embodying real-life character portrayal should look like.
Ultimately,
Yukino Kishii immersed herself into rigorous three-month-long pre-shoot training sessions dedicated entirely towards honing speed-enhancing exercises—since speed cannot simply be acted out convincingly enough otherwise!
Two months prior shooting commenced;
she began cutting down carbohydrate intake drastically—resulting heightened tension levels concentrating solely upon singular focus area!
From start till end;
Sho Miyake trained alongside her—both synchronizing rhythmically understanding both fictionalized characters’ archetypes & intrinsic allure inherent within pugilistic discipline alike!
Achieving such depth ensures even simplest storyline releases profound energy!
Keiko’s deafness/femininity/passionate pursuit juxtaposed tumultuous narrative arcs underscores authenticity surpasses dramatic embellishments!
Though named after protagonist herself yet transcends individualistic boundaries encompassing broader spectrum diverse interactions surrounding multiple personalities enriching overall relatability factor amongst audience members universally alike!
For women viewers especially inspiring message conveyed emphasizes navigating constrained mundane realities resolutely forging ahead determinedly regardless obstacles encountered along path embarked upon collectively togetherness fostering mutual comprehension silently ！
