'Plan 75' ... it can't be real life, can it?!?
Science fact often follows Science fiction, so Chie Hayakawa's 'Plan 75' could be a useful warning! The subtly-told Japanese drama is made to look like a documentary, about a government scheme offering senior citizens the option of being euthanized to re-balance the ageing population. The story is set at some undefined point in the future, but tbh could easily be now!
The story is told ingeniously through 3 main character arcs. Mishi (played by Chieko Baisho), recently turned 75, has been invited to join the scheme, Himoru (Hayato Isomura) is one of the bureacrats involved in administering it, and Maria (Stefanie Arianne), an immigrant in Japan, takes a job preparing corpses for cremation in order to pay for her daughter back in the Philippines to have heart surgery. Their lives inevitably cross paths, and Hayakawa's film shows the moral dilemma each faces.
Practices on 'Plan 75' quickly become normalized, quite chilling! For example, "interviews" are conducted in a government office that could easily be a job centre. Everything is 'voluntary' of course ... but is it, really? It was also clever that in at least 2 parts of the film, there were sporadic protests, objects hurled "off camera" at posters advertising the scheme. AI robots will run the world, but there may be things humans just won't do!
Hayakawa shows that decisions don't exist in a moral vacuum, so the film's protagonists kick back, eventually though. And wonderful Mishi remains defiant and optimistic to the closing shots of the film ... highly recommended!
The story is told ingeniously through 3 main character arcs. Mishi (played by Chieko Baisho), recently turned 75, has been invited to join the scheme, Himoru (Hayato Isomura) is one of the bureacrats involved in administering it, and Maria (Stefanie Arianne), an immigrant in Japan, takes a job preparing corpses for cremation in order to pay for her daughter back in the Philippines to have heart surgery. Their lives inevitably cross paths, and Hayakawa's film shows the moral dilemma each faces.
Practices on 'Plan 75' quickly become normalized, quite chilling! For example, "interviews" are conducted in a government office that could easily be a job centre. Everything is 'voluntary' of course ... but is it, really? It was also clever that in at least 2 parts of the film, there were sporadic protests, objects hurled "off camera" at posters advertising the scheme. AI robots will run the world, but there may be things humans just won't do!
Hayakawa shows that decisions don't exist in a moral vacuum, so the film's protagonists kick back, eventually though. And wonderful Mishi remains defiant and optimistic to the closing shots of the film ... highly recommended!
- ok_english_bt
- Jul 19, 2024