Dr. Nakamats, or Yoshiro Nakamats the endearing, eccentric subject of the new documentary The Invention of Dr. Nakamats directed by Kaspar Astrup Schroder, is many things. He is a world renowned Japanese inventor with more than 3,000 patents to his name (including: a “cosmic energy” engine, a new form of harder glass, the floppy disk, a water powered bicycle cab, and much more).
He is a consummate showman. He is a believer that too much oxygen inhibits the brains ability to properly function thus he spends hours in pools depriving himself of air, self-invented waterproof notebook in hand. He is a mini-celebrity with his own fan-club of screaming devotees. Dr. Nakamats is many things, but most importantly he’s about to turn 80, and he’s throwing a birthday party.
On the surface the The Invention of Dr. Nakamats is just that, a charming, stylishly pieced together documentary about an eccentric Japanese man and his fascinating day-to-day life in the weeks before he crests 80. Yet this barely-an-hour long film delves deeper, painting a picture of a man solitary within his own self-obsession, highlighting Dr. Nakamats greatest invention – himself.
Director Astrup Schroder and crew paint a multi-layered portrait of the inventor. At face value Dr. Nakamats is a wacky inventor in the vein of Home Movie’s Ben Skora – well known, but more for his idiosyncratic behavior than the success of his creations. Using an impressive visual style and of course Mark Mothersbaugh’s oddball score, Astrup Schroder manages to pull back the daunting mask of Nakamats persona, revealing an unexpected sadness beneath.
Though Nakamatsu, a master of image self-preservation, plays to the camera like the natural thespian he is, Astrup Schroder uses the quiet moments surrounding his subjects long discourses to fill in the hefty blanks. The gawky interactions between Nakamats and his ceramics designing daughter, the long silent drives between events, the overwhelming workload this tireless 79-year old man takes on, all showcase the seeming emptiness that haunts the corners of Nakamats life.
Even his 80th birthday is portrayed as anti-climactic, a sort of bizarrely staged self-inflicted celebration, that slips by in a series of quick cuts. It is the moment in the car after the birthday that highlights the truths of Dr. Nakamats. The inventor, alone in a taxi, returning home or to the office or somewhere in the dark of night, not surrounded by his fans or his family or his inventions or, well, anyone. The grand curtain pulled back, the tiny man behind the wizard fully revealed.
Don’t get it wrong, The Invention of Dr. Nakamats is not a heavy film. It is beautifully crafted, light, airy, quirky, and its center subject, an at times hysterically portrayed collection of one-liners and peculiar behaviors. More so, the sadness that lingers at the edges is a bonus, a beautifully portrayed side-story that gives unexpected meaning and weight to the film and of course, to Dr. Nakamats and his strange world.
Showtimes:
Wed, May 05 / 6:30 / Kabuki /
This not enough as the topic is incomplete:
The invention of cosmic generators may be communicated to NASA and astropysics centers for satellitic cosmic energy utility .A feed back may please be given.Along with ERR Fluxgenertors and solar photovoltaic cells this mission can be complted.But regarding the unit generated and the balck antenna aea and the material involved must bemade to the public also.