Winny
Director's Note
Kaneko Isamu was the first person in the world to realize a network that would become the competing pillar of modern Internet culture nearly 20 years ago. It is a visionary world of networks where individuals support each other to survive without relying on a central server. However, the development of Winny came to an end with his arrest in 2004. While the Winny trial was going on, new digital services such as YouTube and iTunes were emerging from the United States. If Mr. Kaneko had not been arrested, if he were still alive, Japan might be a very different place today. What is frustrating is that a genius like him was literally robbed of his future by the seven years of his trial. I believe that the culture of film is to shine a light on a story that has been buried in a certain point in history. My hope is to shed light on the time lived by Isamu Kaneko, a genius programmer who has remained unknown to the world, and by Mr. Dan and the defense lawyers who supported Kaneko and fought alongside him. I hope that this film will be a test for us human beings to live more freely, and equally.
Winny is fantastic filmic narrative. Matsumoto smartly avoids the trap of overt melodrama so that Masahiro Higashide can make the tragical finality of the narrative functional and effective with his performance. By delivering, first and foremost, a character study with Winny rather than a dramatic court-drama with a overly dramatic rhythm, Matsumoto offers a serene insight in how the Other of the law curtails a subject and, indirectly, sabotages the prospects of a new industry.
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With some interesting general comments regarding the still crucial questions of copyright and the use of technology, great acting, directing and editing, “Winny” is an excellent movie that both entertains and educates, and a very welcome return for Matsumoto to form.
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