A human contract I am now so old that if there is a battle somewhere, I will no longer be able to participate in it. And how I would like to rush into the thick of enemies and die by the sword. It is a shame to die of infirmity in your own bed.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo "Hagakure." Book of the Samurai
The West is the West, the East is the East, and they do not meet together. Exceptions only confirm the rule. One of these, the most striking exceptions, was the life and work of Japanese director Yoshishige Yoshida – this name he received at birth and it is also recorded in his passport, but his work in television, where he made documentaries and often gave interviews, forced him to change his name to Kiju Yoshido, as more sympathetic. The director later described 13 years of TV as an escape from himself, but the new name stuck with him, especially in Europe. A keen interest in his work in France is understandable, since Yoshida is fluent in French, knows French culture and philosophy, preferring Sartre. He received this knowledge at the University of Tokyo, and his love for French cinema since childhood. His favorite director, Jean Renoir, was greatly influenced by Bergman, but critics often compare Yoshido with Antonioni, and also call him one of the founders of the Japanese New Wave Ofuna. The comparison with Michelangelo flatters him, but he does not agree with enrolling himself in this or that wave, because he believes that the participants of any movement should be connected, in addition to a beautiful name, by common ideals and goals, which never happened in reality. All the above is reflected in this picture, shot after a long separation of the director from the big movie.
From the first frames of the film, it seems that it was shot not by an Asian, but by a European, although all the surroundings, actors, metaphors and symbols are inextricably linked with Japan, but they are quite understandable to a person of a different culture, and the atmosphere of cinema itself is permeated with the philosophy of existentialism. The main topic was then taboo euthanasia. That is why the author decided to tell about it in the language of cinema and did it refined, sensual and very deeply. He chose a detective uniform for his film, but since he himself called all his films anti-cinema, it is possible to talk about an anti-detective, since Yoshida denies the film itself as a story. The main thing for him is the creation of “real images of a human being or existence in Sartre’s interpretation.” The film does not assume unambiguous assessments, the author avoids them. “The picture I create becomes independent and takes on a life of its own, the audience is free to interpret the scene as a fantasy or a memory, even if I never intended it to be.” Thought is not new, but it helps to better understand the author’s intention. In creating dialogues, the author is especially hard on himself. There are no superfluous lines in them, the characters do not explain their actions: why are they here, why do they think this way and not otherwise, why do they cry? What are the words when all this can and should be played? Actors do their job at the top. The viewer sees a family history in three generations living under one roof, and therefore the acting troupe includes both old, proven fighters and younger growth. The eldest woman of the family, Tatus (Satiko Murase) still retained the ability to love, but constant physical and mental pain has already killed in her seemingly natural thirst for life. Her husband, Ryosaku Morimoto (Rentaro Mikuni), promised to help his wife leave this world with dignity, but did he still have enough strength to fulfill the oath? Sartre once said, “He loved, wanted to live, knowing that he was dying—in other words, he was a man.” Their son Yoshie (Choichiro Kavarazaki) endures all the hardships, in the best traditions of the samurai, who ordered not only to treat their parents with respect and respect, but also not to oppose their will. His wife Ritsuko (Oriye Sato) sincerely helped the elderly, but was not always able to curb her nerves, especially against the background of marital infidelity. Ritsuko is a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Her son Takao (Tetta Sugimoto) is a typical teenager who does not recognize authority. In his mouth, the author puts a text that sounds like a social protest, about the fate of the unfortunate, useless old people, about the state that built shelters for them, no different from zoos, where close relatives take their children on weekends. But Yoshida doesn't give any recipes, and do they exist? Each case is unique in its own way. All these characters fall into the circle of suspected detective Tagami (Tomisaburo Wakayama) after the death of Tatus and each has their own possible motives, quite understandable. “The film is ultimately not about what I say so that the viewer can see it, but about what the viewer sees and learns for himself,” Yoshishige Yoshida said. He learns the secret about himself beloved, I would like to add on behalf of the viewer.
This picture is a drama, shot in the genre of detective, but it does not and cannot be chases and shootouts. Everything is quite mundane and the main emphasis on psychology. The intrigue characteristic of the genre persists almost to the end. The gray-haired detective will bring all the ends together, but his wisdom is perfectly expressed by his own words: “Justice is only a contract between people.” Do you agree or disagree with his position? No one is free to make that choice for you. Conscience, if it exists, is the strictest and most ruthless judge.