"Dawn of a New Day" review by Kelly Main

A review of, “Dawn of a New Day”
Kelly Main

Dawn of a New Day is an intriguing film surrounding the development and launch of the VHS device in Japan. It shows the struggles that Yuji Kagaya, an employee of the Japan Victor Company, goes through as he is transferred from an enjoyable research and development division of the company to a poor-performing video equipment division. He soon finds that the company is cutting back employees and trying to cut costs rather than increase revenue in order to survive.

I found this movie very interesting. First, the family life of Kagaya is interesting. His wife is very devoted and supports her husband strongly, even as Kagaya’s work causes him to work later and later hours. It is also interesting that, although Kagaya’s oldest son is often disrespectful, Kagaya does not become angry at him.

It is also interesting to see the devotion that many employees have to their company. Kagaya, although he does not want the transfer, does follow his superior’s decision to move to the video division. Okubu, the video division’s accountant, is very devoted to his company in following orders and ensuring accurate reports. Kagaya’s request that Okubu mislead the company on the video division’s progress is very difficult for Okubu to agree to. Also many of the employees continue to work despite being asked to perform mundane tasks such as VCR repairs and sales. Also, the small group that Kagaya charges to invent the VHS worked very late many nights.

I also enjoyed observing how respect was shown between people through bowing. In some cases, bows were only slight. However, to a superior or in response to a strong favor being performed, bows were very low, almost completely bent over.

The plot itself, based on a true story, was enjoyable. It is interesting to see how closely the Betamax was to becoming the standard in Japan, something which I had not been aware of. I felt that Dawn of a New Day was a very enjoyable movie and would recommend it to someone interested in the genre.