Film review - One of One: Japan’s keepers of vintage speed

Coming off from Car Week’s glossy concours reels and auction hype, One of One is a rare, unvarnished look at how legacy gets made. Director Ben Bertucci takes viewers inside Naito Engineering, a three-generation Tokyo workshop that restores some of the most valuable cars known to man with the intensity and ritual of a samurai swordsmith’s forge. Auction veteran David Gooding observes that “many in the industry have never heard of them,” and the film smartly lets that anonymity hang in the air – mystique or missed recognition? The answer is part of the film’s quiet and unique spell.

The opening act is all texture: a grungy, cramped shop where perfection is coaxed out of sheetmetal under buzzing fluorescents. Shinichi Naito, a self-taught 'genius' mechanic who once worked on WWII bomber planes, is the origin story; his son Masao – who literally grew up on the shop’s second floor –carries the torch, approaching restoration as a craft to be passed down. You can tell Shinichi was into cameras because Bertucci had an abundance of material from the past to work with. Bertucci’s own camera lingers on hands, tools, welds, and the beautiful small rituals that separate a proper restoration from just a rebuild. It’s tactile filmmaking – you can almost smell the oil on the concrete floor they squat and work on. None of those fancy tools, work stools or shelving that even adorn normal U.S. home garages these days.

A scene pivot to Los Angeles reframes the family’s trajectory. Exposed to the U.S, Masao starts shipping cars back to Japan during the bubble era, when a strong yen and voracious demand turn smart buys into windfalls. The film sketches a portrait of risk and conviction – selling the house to buy junkers in the U.K. that could be reborn as blue-chip collectibles – and of a father who lets his son run in a culture where the patriarch usually rules. The business grows, but the ethos doesn’t change.

Cinematography is a standout. The serenity of Tokyo streets contrasted with roaring sports cars from a 1967 Porsche 907 K to a 1965 Ferrari 250 LM  is hypnotic, and the lens loves these cars. These aren’t cameos; they’re character studies. The camera captures surfaces of multimillion dollar cars like the 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 NART with precision and art. For enthusiasts, it’s dare we say, 'car porn'.

Still, One of One resists straight-line storytelling. The Naitos are private, and Bertucci doesn’t force exposition. That restraint gives the film its intimacy but leaves provocative questions: How do world-class results emerge from a shop that looks one tremor away from collapse? Why no upgrade? Have their cars actually set the auction world on fire, or do they vanish into private collections? The lack of easy answers feels deliberate; secrecy is part of the brand.

There’s also a cultural thread that lands with quiet power. Japan’s macro story – slower growth, enduring demand for high craftsmanship – becomes a microcosm in this family. Masao calls himself “retired and jobless,” yet he’s perpetually on-camera, grease on his hands, hovering just enough to guide his two sons, heirs in a country wrestling with its succession (あととり) problem. In a late scene, I heard Masao call the director “Ben-chan” in Japanese – an affectionate honorific that signals trust earned, hierarchy softened. It’s a small moment that says everything about the access Bertucci was granted.

If there’s a critique, it’s that some viewers used to normal US documentaries may want more processed detail – hard numbers, provenance deep dives, before/after shots – or more drama. What happened to Masao's brother Shigeo who was suddenly fired? But the film’s fly-on-the-wall discipline is the point. Rather than explain, it shows: handwork, a family negotiating legacy, and multi-million-dollar cars reborn in a space that refuses to upgrade from post war Japan, literally and figuratively.

Complementing the film is a 252-page hardcover companion book – a limited-edition pressing. Featuring photography by Bertucci, the book captures moments in and out of the workshop, celebrating the beauty and complexity of generational craftsmanship.

Verdict: One of One is a beautifully observed, quietly thrilling study of how legend is made, by people who prefer the work to the spotlight. For racers, restorers, and anyone who believes the soul of a car can be re-forged, it’s essential viewing.

Where to watch: Premieres September 1 on Apple TV and Prime Video.

Credits: Executive Producers Jeff Martin, Kyoko Yamashita, Tom Keeling, Matt Shreder. Produced by Ben Bertucci & TJ Parker. Directed by Ben Bertucci.