PLAN 75, TIFF Encore Presentation, TORONTO JAPANESE FILM FESTIVAL

“Tender and devastatingly unsentimental, Plan 75 is a plea for empathy and a damning indictment of a world that more and more sees people as disposable.” – Seventh Row
With nearly one-third of Japan’s population over the age of 65 and the lowest birth rates in the world, the country faces an historic economic and healthcare crisis. In response the government creates Plan 75, where senior citizens over 75 are encouraged to voluntarily euthanize themselves for the benefit younger generations. Soon government facilities are crowded with seniors like Michi, a 78-year-old cleaning lady with a precarious living situation who, for ¥100,000, will be put to death. Bureaucrats like Hiromu and immigrant worker Maria both benefit professionally from the system, but beneath the surface everyone is left questioning the morality of it all. This thoughtful, beautifully acted inquiry into how we value our seniors won Caméra d’Or Special Mention Award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Starring Chieko Baisho, Hayato Isomura, Stefanie Arianne, Yuumi Kawai, Taka Takao