The feature mockumentary doesn't have many practitioners in Japan. Two who do come to mind are TV comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto ("Big Man Japan," 2007) and Nobuhiro Yamashita ("Girls in the Psychic Club," 2014). Both have a dry sense of humor and a bit of a cruel streak.
So does 25-year-old Ken Ninomiya, the mockumentarian of the genre's latest local example, "Matsumoto Tribe" — though he is arguably "crueler" than either of his better-known senpai (seniors). Watching this zero-budget exercise in desperation and humiliation, which is billed as an "extreme Spartan movie," I felt I was seeing not so much a comedy as a disturbing glimpse into the darker realities of Japanese show business. The laughs stuck in my throat.
That said, the film has a train-wreck fascination — and delivers a strong final catharsis without falling into feel-good cliches.