I recently viewed this docupiece and wanted to share some thoughts about it. Originally released in 2008, the film follows a middle aged japanese man with a keen use of english and not a lot of money. He lost everything when Japan's economy collapsed, he even fell out with his family. He now lives with his much younger girlfriend at the poverty line.
I really enjoyed watching this film because it shows a side of Japan that you often do not ever see portrayed in media. What I mean is mostly all we get are, say, food shows showing high end sushi and ramen bars, tourist shows showing the akihabara and the bullet trains, documentary pieces showing classic japan, samurai, etc, and so on.
But its the day-to-day life of society in japan that often gets left out. In this particular case, we are shown perhaps the most extreme. A couple living close to the poverty line in Japan. Indeed, poverty is probably one of the last things we think about when thinking of Japan. You might have heard in these shows how things are 'very expensive' in Japan, how the Japanese work themselves to death, and so on; but rarely do we get to see it portrayed in media.
The film itself doesn't revolve around their struggles making ends meet. They do show how the man, Naoki, works in a dead end job making very little money, and showcasing some situations of the aforementioned Japanese work ethic; but mostly the story is more about how the couple struggles with human nature while being poor, in a country of such prominence as Japan. It throws us into a situation where the girl, Yoshie, lives with a man twice her age, a man who has no money, a man who can't even pleasure her sexually. She could very well at any moment throw him out of her home, or find another man, so why is she still with him? Is love really that strong? I think its a storyline many of us can relate to at one time or another in our own lives, it was interesting to see this from a foreign perspective.
Its a nice, warm, hour of good story telling. Watch it if you have the time.
looks interesting. i will take a look. i watched a movie in the not too distant past as well about a child whose parents died, but nobody knew, and she lived by herself at, unsurprisingly, below poverty line. it was obviously fiction, but it also gave an interesting look on japanese society. people have a very weird sense of what japan is really like, which is completely skewed by the game shows and other weird shit that comes out of japan.
On September 10 2013 17:56 FFGenerations wrote: great. i am learning jap right now (just finished hir+katakana) so this is right up my alley.
I really want to watch the documentary, and your blog/the general story itself is really interesting for a variety of reasons, but...I think I'd get too emotional...just reading a teaser/summary/your blog is so sad :x
I liked the document as it had a very personal take on things instead of kind of lecturing from top to bottom but at least I was already aware of the issues presented in the film.
- the japanese work really long hours and have next to no vacation - no more careers for life, less stability - recession in the 90s, I think it was global - I don't really know the political climate in Japan but I think it was hinted at that Japan is more in the right like the US when they referred to the support system most EU countries provide for, but not Japan - the clips from Naiko's work were interesting, the work climate looked very foreign with all the morning exercises and stressful atmosphere and it was the post office not some hotshot firm! What were they selling?
It must be hard to live like that for Naiko? after having such a high standard of living before.
On September 11 2013 06:29 capu wrote: I liked the document as it had a very personal take on things instead of kind of lecturing from top to bottom but at least I was already aware of the issues presented in the film.
- the japanese work really long hours and have next to no vacation - no more careers for life, less stability - recession in the 90s, I think it was global - I don't really know the political climate in Japan but I think it was hinted at that Japan is more in the right like the US when they referred to the support system most EU countries provide for, but not Japan - the clips from Naiko's work were interesting, the work climate looked very foreign with all the morning exercises and stressful atmosphere and it was the post office not some hotshot firm! What were they selling?
It must be hard to live like that for Naiko? after having such a high standard of living before.
From my understanding they were selling life insurance or at least picking up the life insurance fees for another company.
On September 11 2013 05:16 Aerisky wrote: Yes really.
I really want to watch the documentary, and your blog/the general story itself is really interesting for a variety of reasons, but...I think I'd get too emotional...just reading a teaser/summary/your blog is so sad :x
its not that sad. the guy Naoki is a great character, he's always making jokes and laughing through out the film. when i say "they live at the poverty line", not in poverty, ie they dont have much extra money laying around for the more luxurious things of life. they can still go buy beers and etc; but the film isnt about their money struggle. just two people dealing with their life situation.
On September 11 2013 05:16 Aerisky wrote: Yes really.
I really want to watch the documentary, and your blog/the general story itself is really interesting for a variety of reasons, but...I think I'd get too emotional...just reading a teaser/summary/your blog is so sad :x
its not that sad. the guy Naoki is a great character, he's always making jokes and laughing through out the film. when i say "they live at the poverty line", not in poverty, ie they dont have much extra money laying around for the more luxurious things of life. they can still go buy beers and etc; but the film isnt about their money struggle. just two people dealing with their life situation.
Ah gotcha. Yeah that's what the synopses imply too but I can't help but get caught on that part a bit. So depressing :/
EPT
