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The upcoming Netflix documentary Missing: The Lucie Blackman Case chronicles the captivating story of Lucie Blackman, a British woman who mysteriously disappeared in Tokyo. This eerie-imbued film is set to release on the streaming platform on July 26, 2023. Through its mesmerizing narrative, it delves into the hidden and sinister aspects of Tokyo nightlife, shedding light on the city's dark secrets.
Lucie Blackman, a 21-year-old from Kent, England, mysteriously disappeared from her job in Tokyo's Roppongi district. This sudden disappearance set off an international search effort, which is thoroughly examined in the documentary.
The official synopsis of Missing: The Lucie Blackman Case as per IMDb, reads:
"It follows the turbulent and complex investigation into the killing of British tourist Lucie Blackman"
How did Lucie Blackman go mysteriously missing?
Lucie Blackman, a British woman from Sevenoaks, Kent, had relocated to Tokyo with aspirations of exploring the world and settling her debts. She worked as a hostess in a nightclub in Tokyo's Roppongi district. Lucie went missing mysteriously on July 1, 2000, after going on a paid date with a customer of the club.
Her family's distress grew as they tirelessly searched for her whereabouts. Through their relentless efforts and an extensive media campaign initiated by them, the heartbreaking truth eventually came to light. On February 9, 2001, a seaside cave near Tokyo revealed Lucie's lifeless body, dismembered and covered in concrete.
The main figure involved in this case was Joji Obara, a Korean-Japanese serial rapist suspected to have targeted around 150 to 400 women. Obara used to incapacitate his victims by administering drugs before carrying out his deeds. He faced charges related to drugging, r*ping and fatally harming Blackman along with the r*pe and unintended killing of Australian woman Carita Ridgway and the se*ual assault of eight women.
This eerie incident took a mind-boggling twist during the court trials where the police and judicial system were alleged with negligence in Blackman's case. It was revealed that her job profession generally involves sudden disappearance, especially for women.
Additionally, it was found out that Lucie Blackman was working illicitly in the bar at night. The intricate web of Lucie's case got more tangled when her body was found but the cause of death was unknown. With such looming situations at that time, Obara was initially not convicted for her murder.
In 2008, after his 400 r*pe films and Lucie Blackman's dismembered body parts were located in different bags, Obara was found guilty of a number of offenses, including the r*pe and murder of the hostess. The gruesome incident gained momentum and made ripples of fear across the world and became a subject of discussion overnight.
In an exclusive interview with BDE about the upcoming killer documentary, director, Hyoe Yamamoto, explained the significance behind drafting the documentary and mentioned:
"It was a police procedural book, but it was very interesting in the fact that at the end they mentioned that all these detectives are actually still going to the site where they discovered the body and offering prayers after all these years."
He added,
"It got me wondering why that is, and why did it have that much impact on them? If I could talk to these detectives and find out why, what happened in the case, I thought that would make an intriguing documentary"
He continued,
"I began to think about how these men and women must have felt going into this difficult investigation and how the power of empathy for a foreigner they had never met led them to endure the long investigation that ensued. Despite the horror and brutal nature of the crime and the 20 years that have passed, I felt the story was still very much worth telling,”
The 1-hour long documentary is written by Shoji Takao. Missing: The Lucie Blackman Case will release on the streaming giant, Netflix, on July 26, 2023.
