The Contestant

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1:37

The Contestant

2023

1h 30m

Documentary

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

93%

Tomatometer

42 Reviews

88%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

The incredible true story of a man who lived for 15 months trapped inside a small room, naked, starving and alone... and completely unaware that his life was being broadcast on national TV to over 17 million viewers a week.

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Critics Consensus

A transfixing depiction of abject cruelty, The Contestant raises a series of thought-provoking questions about human behavior, even if it leaves most of them largely unexplored.

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Tasha Robinson

Polygon

In spite of the guilty voyeuristic lure of a naked guy who doesn’t know he’s being filmed, the wacky framing, and the big, bright uplift of the ending, this movie is as frightening as any of the doomsaying docs of the last few decades.

Rated: 83/100

Jun 14, 2024

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Sophie Gilbert

The Atlantic

What’s most remarkable about The Contestant now is how its subject managed to regain his faith in human nature, despite everything he endured.

May 20, 2024

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Jarrod Jones

AV Club

The Contestant is a standard-grade documentary buoyed mightily by its subject—no harm in that.

Rated: B-

May 9, 2024

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Matt Glasby

Radio Times

Although the film's talking heads and clips sometimes have the feel of a TV special, Hamatsu and his story are so remarkable you'll scarcely believe what you're seeing.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 25, 2024

Full Review

Andrew Parker

The Gate

Clair Titley’s documentary The Contestant will leave viewers stunned, even if they think they know the whole story behind it.

Rated: 8/10

Jul 24, 2024

Full Review

Oliver Weir

The Film Stage

The Contestant provides a clear summary of this strange story, but with a good deal more psychological detail than was provided in the original show.

Rated: B-

Jul 17, 2024

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Audience Member

A disquieting and immersive reflection on one of the most extreme social experiments ever to take place, where one man’s hardship and isolation is contrived ad nauseam to push the limits of TV sans regard for the inhumanity it took, ultimately accenting the star-turned-victim’s superhuman endurance in defiance of his fellow man’s equal capacity for cruelty & compassion.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/24/24

Full Review

Lars N

More a horror film than anything else. Every time the audience laughs it send shivers down my spine. Sure it's a fascinating story but it lacks severely in any kind of hard question aimed at the people who tormented this guy for no apparent reason.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

09/22/24

Full Review

Audience Member

Absolutely insane what this guy did, and he still wasn't a multi-millionaire. In America, if someone did this he would have sued the living heck out of the show. Or he would have won a million dollars each time he stayed in the room and completed each task. But I get it, this was way before The Real World, and this was the first reality TV game show in history. And it was in Japan, where they do this kind of crazy stuff all the time.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

08/31/24

Full Review

Brad O

A fascinating look into how low and how high a human can go.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

07/16/24

Full Review

Audience Member

A fantastic documentary showing the limits of physiological torment a person can go through. An Absolute MUST SEE film, Nasubi is an inspiration!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/11/24

Full Review

Gareth D

A really fascinating look at both how exploitative the reality TV genre is (with this being one of the first of it's type) and how resilient humans are.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/02/24

Full Review

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Clair Titley

Director

Fred Armisen

Narrator

Takehiro Hira

Narrator

Tomoaki Hamatsu

Self

Toshio Tsuchiya

Self

Clair Titley

Writer

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The Contestant: Trailer

1:37

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Synopsis

The incredible true story of a man who lived for 15 months trapped inside a small room, naked, starving and alone... and completely unaware that his life was being broadcast on national TV to over 17 million viewers a week.

Director: Clair Titley
Producer: Andee Ryder, Ian Bonhôte, Megumi Inman
Screenwriter: Clair Titley
Distributor: Hulu
Production Co: Misfits Entertainment
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): May 2, 2024
Runtime: 1h 30m

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