The Invention of Dr. Nakamats

Dr. Nakamats himself is our guide as, without comment from the Danish filmmakers, he shows us his many inventions. The 81-year-old Japanese has 3,300 patents to his name, including the first floppy disk, the aphrodisiac Love Jet spray, and Dr. Nakamats's Brain Drink. He always gets his best ideas -- as he demonstrates -- underwater and "0.5 seconds before death." (He invented an underwater memo pad to make immediate note of these ideas.) A moment later, we see Nakamats bouncing past on springs intended to make jogging less strenuous. He seems remarkably sprightly for a man born in 1928, and he intends to live to the age of 144. With this in mind, he has carried out a daily examination of the effect of his meal (of which he takes a photograph) on his blood since 1971. This work received the Ig Nobel Prize in 2005, for achievements that "first make people laugh, and then make them think." Nakamats is proud of the award, just as he is of a letter from George Bush, Sr. He is also vain (he sings a song in praise of his own tenacity) and unwilling to be contradicted. Nakamats gives a severe lecture, Japanese-style, to a noncompliant staff member at the hotel where he is intending to celebrate his 80th birthday -- it is an elaborate display of great honor, respect, shame, and apologies. Nonetheless, Nakamats jokingly predicts that the filmmakers will "edit out all the good stuff and only show the weird scenes." (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)