Retired police officer Yukio Shige is haunted by memories of people he couldn’t save. He regularly keeps vigil on the Toshinbo cliffs overlooking the vast Sea of Japan, looking for any chance to save someone from danger of his own making. Surrounded by rough waters and rugged rock formations, these cliffs are responsible for more than 70 suicides each year. The thought-provoking documentary “The Gatekeeper” documents Shige’s mission to fight the pandemic through outreach, compassion and understanding.
As a police officer, Shige is experienced in finding the bodies of suicide bombers from the bottom of cliffs. Suicide is not uncommon in Japan; more than 24,000 residents of the country commit suicide each year. The phenomenon is so pervasive and widespread that many of Shige’s colleagues have developed apathy towards him, perhaps because it is their only remaining defense in the face of such great pain and loss. However, Brother Shi is determined to launch a more active response to the crisis. After retiring from law enforcement, he founded a nonprofit support group aimed at helping those who were depressed and potentially suicidal.
This is not an easy task. The community capitalized on its reputation as a suicide capital and used it to build a thriving tourism industry. In one particularly stunning sequence in the film, we are placed on a ferry with dozens of eager passengers while a guide encourages them to photograph the shrine where many desperate victims took their last breath.
Despite these obstacles, Shige keeps fighting. He and his rotating crew of 20 assistants couldn’t bring themselves to stand by and watch the cliffs claim more lost souls. We see him advising a young man who is just teetering on the edge of a cliff. We followed him later as he frantically scoured the area looking for another stray tourist he couldn’t see at night.
Gatekeeper is a sensitive and perceptive profile of an extraordinary man who demonstrates how simply human kindness can mean the difference between life and death when we are at our most vulnerable.
Directed by: Yung Chang
