Cannes Review: Chie Hayakawa’s ‘Plan 75’

A diet of rice and tofu, lots of regular and light exercise, and excellent hospitals – the Japanese have created a formula for efficient aging. With just over 30% of the population over the age of 65, Japanese society is now officially known as the “Super Age”. Meanwhile, the total number of people is falling sharply, thanks to low birth rates and entrenched resistance to immigration. Every year, less and less are turning to young adults. This is a slow economic crisis.

Of course, there is an obvious solution that cannot be imagined in real life, but it really works on Chie Hayakawa. 75 Plan, Un Certain Regard shown in the skin film. The deed plan is a hypothetical government-funded program that offers only the elderly a chance to remain silent. This is by no means considered a mass destruction program. On the contrary, it is purely charitable.

The road has small bumps on the right. Volunteers can receive a cash gift for the last vacation, a free funeral, or even the chance to die at a five-star spa. Music-filled news ads played in every hospital waiting room gently remind potential customers that no one wants to be a burden, and that the Japanese have a proud history of self-sacrifice for their great generosity. Suicide is not mandatory, but use it whenever you can!

Michi (a really cool and lively performance Chieko Baisho) is 78 years old and currently works as a hotel cleaner. All colleagues are the same age, the team happily combines lunch: “These apples look delicious!” – and choose outdoor activities for inexpensive leisure trips. When someone is laid off, everyone is forced to retire. By coincidence, Michi discovers that his apartment is about to be demolished. He has no income and no housing. The man behind the desk says he can ask for help but voicing his concern tells us it’s like sleeping on a bench. Death is better than humiliation.

Even park benches are becoming an inaccessible option. We meet Hiromu (Hayato Isamura), a young bureaucrat from the social security department, as he checks the new raised armrests on existing benches to stop restless sleep. He laughs as he assesses each of them’s discomfort; He did not even think about the cruelty of this policy. Later, however, we’ll see his anger pay off when he steps outside into the social dining room. Everything comes to mind when his uncle enters his office to sign up for Plan 75.

The church elder leaves out good-natured Filipino caretaker Maria (Stephanie Ariane), who helps her find a better-paying job on Plan 75. “I’m considering working with the elderly, but for more money.” As a Plan 75 keeper, one of María’s jobs is to empty the bags of people who come there to die. It only takes seconds to clear and clean up the last remnants of an old woman’s life.

It’s still a bright and precious life, as Plan 75’s consultant (Yumi Kawaii) admits when she joins Michi’s client list. Counselors should call the approaching deceased every few days and make sure they don’t change their minds, disguised as a caring friend. Instead, this sweet young lady will take me to the bowling alley. Seeing Mitch admiring him as he handed the second ball, the young man waved to him and nearly finished him off. It’s almost over. Fortunately, Michi isn’t over yet.

There is nothing flashy in Hayakawa’s approach to his subject, no dramatic chase, survival or confrontation; This is a sober and thoughtful story. There is nothing dystopian in that either; Most are in gray-lined wards and well-cleaned hospitals, mostly in common places, where everyone is trying to do the right thing. Formally, it’s a bit like an educational movie. What that means is that the genius of this movie is that Hayakawa can make the idea of ​​extinction completely normal in about a quarter of an hour, which goes without saying. Could this really happen? When he’s done with us, it looks like he’s already done.