Dean Crowe Theatre Athlone

Tuesday 10 October 2023 8pm

Dir: Chie Hayakawa - Japan 2022

Language: Japanese with subtitles

Running time: 113 mins Cert: CLUB

Starring: Stefanie Arianne, Chieko Baisho, Hayato Isomura

Set in a not-too-distant future, director Chie Hayakawa imagines a Japan where citizens over the age of 75 years are considered a tangible threat to the country's economy and so a government programme is introduced to encourage and incentivise voluntary end of life. The film follows three characters whose lives are impacted by ‘Plan 75’ in very different ways.

A protégé of renowned Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Koreeda, Hayakawa - building here on her own short from the anthology film Ten Years Japan - handles this sensitive material with a deft hand. Through Plan 75’s science-fiction-tinged conceit, she crafts a humanist story that explores the dangers of neglecting a society's senior citizens and unveils the beauty and dignity of human life.

Festival showing:
Cannes Film Festival, 2022 - Golden Camera - Special Mention (Chie Hayakawa)
Dublin International Film Festival, 2023

Quotes:
“★ ★ ★ ★ Bashio's performance is a thing of quiet wonder” - The Japan Times
“... often moving in understated ways… Plan 75 may seem like it's about ageing, but more accurately it is about the importance of community” - Screen International