Following the philosophical tennis documentary John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection, Julien Faraut is back with yet another unusual, enigmatic sports film, this time tracing the extraordinary journey of the undefeated Japanese national women’s volleyball team in the 1960s. Assembled from a group of factory workers, these young, initially amateur athletes went to extraordinary lengths to hone their skills, under the stern and ruthless training of head coach Hirofumi Daimatsu. Winners of the gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics, the team enjoyed a streak of 258 victories, earning the “witches” sobriquet abroad and inspiring a string of pop culture tributes, most notably Chikako Urano’s Attack No 1 manga series.
In retelling this stranger-than-fiction chapter of sports history, Faraut’s choice of materials ranging from interviews with surviving members of the team, now in their 70s, to archival footage of their practices and matches, all juxtaposed with scenes from the anime adaptation of Attack No 1. By pairing real-life events with their animated interpretations, the film not only offers a fresh approach to documentary style but also draws out the tension between reality and artifice, private and public memory. One of the most mesmerising sequences is a training montage where Faraut deftly deconstructs an old newsreel showing the team at their fabric factory. The rhythm of the women’s movements as they roll on the floor to catch the ball – their training includes reimagining their bodies as roly-poly dolls – mirrors the factory machines churning out fresh cotton, to swoony, heady effect.
The image of the machine is especially significant here, as the film contextualises how the team’s success was central to the reinvention of postwar Japan, eager to regain its footing on the international stage. The final Olympics sequence keeps viewers on the edge of their seats, despite us knowing the outcome. Hanging over these young women’s shoulders is not just their pride, but the nation’s too.
• The Witches of the Orient is released on 16 July in cinemas and on digital platforms.
