In The Wake: Japanese Mystery Drama Film

In The Wake, released in Japan under the literal title To Those Who Were Not Protected and the Romaji title Mamorarenakatta Monotachi e, is a 2021 Japanese drama mystery film directed by Takahisa Zeze.[1] The film was distributed by Shochiku and premiered on October 1, 2021, with a runtime of 134 minutes.

Production and Background

The film is based on the novel of the same name written by Shichiri Nakayama, which was published on January 23, 2018, by NHK Publishing.[1] The screenplay was adapted by Tamio Hayashi and Takahisa Zeze. Ryuhei Tsutsui and Daisuke Fukushima served as producers, while Atsuhiro Nabeshima worked as the cinematographer.

Plot Synopsis

Set nine years after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, the story takes place in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. Two murder cases occur under similar circumstances, leading investigators to assume a single perpetrator. Both victims were found bound across their bodies and starved to death. Yasuhisa Tone, who was recently released from prison after serving time for arson and injuring someone to protect an acquaintance, becomes a primary suspect. Detective Seiichiro Tomashino uncovers a common link between the victims and pursues Tone.

Cast and Characters

The principal cast features several prominent Japanese actors:

• Takeru Satoh as Yasuhisa Tone

  

• Hiroshi Abe as Seiichiro Tomashino
• Kaya Kiyohara as Mikiko Maruyama

  

• Kento Hayashi as Tomohiko Hasuda

  

• Eita Nagayama as Tadakatsu Mikumo

  

Supporting cast members include Naoto Ogata as Takeru Jonouchi, Hidetaka Yoshioka as Takehiro Uesaki, Mitsuko Baisho as Kei Toshima, Ryo Iwamatsu as Hajime Narasaki, Kazuki Namioka as Sho Suzuki, Kaoru Okunuki as Noriko Tomashino, Kai Inowaki as Takeshi Kanno, Shohei Uno as Miyahara, Daisuke Kuroda as Hasekura, Naomi Nishida as Makoto Miyazono, Seiji Chihara as Kunieda, Hideko Hara as Haruko, Shingo Tsurumi as Shinonome, and Yuji Miyake as Teizo Kushitani.