NEWS

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The Davidson Film Club is pleased to invite you to a screening and discussion of the multiple award-winning Japanese film, "Plan 75," on Saturday, August 8, at 7:00 p.m. at the Armour Street Theatre in Davidson.

“Those who let the sensitivity of "Plan 75" wash over them will walk out of the theatre and immediately call someone they love.” Tina Kakadelis, Beyond the Cinerama Dome

Directed by Chie Hakyakawa
Japan (2022, 1h53)
In Japanese w/English subtitles

Discussion of the film will be led by Davidson Film Club member Dr. David Fore, Professor Emeritus of Education, University of North Georgia, with a passionate interest in philosophy, religions, and wisdom traditions.

Walk-ins are welcome, $9 (NC sales tax included) at the door, cash or check (no credit cards). Walk-ins must apply for a seat in advance at alsingerman@davidson.edu. Walk-in seats are limited by availability.

Refreshments (red and white wine, bottled water, and snacks) will be made available by the Film Club.

Film Summary:
With a nod to the fabled Japanese practice of oyasute (“a mostly mythical Japanese folklore practice of abandoning elderly, sick, or frail relatives—often parents—in remote mountains to die”), which was itself rooted in Buddhist teachings, the film imagines a modern Japan where an aging society has devised “Plan 75,” a program encouraging the elderly to terminate their own lives to relieve its rapidly aging population's social and economic burdens. The lives of three ordinary citizens intersect in this new reality as they confront the crushing callousness of a world ready to dispose of those no longer deemed valuable.

One win and two nominations at the Cannes International Film Festival; three wins at the Fribourg IFF, including the Grand Prix and the Critic’s Choice Award; three wins at the Thessaloniki FF, including the FIPRESCI Prize and the Human Values Award, plus multiple other wins. 12 wins and 17 nominations in all.

Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 93%.

R.T. Critics Consensus: “Sensitive and insightful, “Plan 75” uses its sci-fi setting to explore our relationship with death—and what it really means to live.”

“The first feature from Japanese female director Chie Hayakawa seethes with violence under its soft-spoken exterior.” Booyd van Hoeij, The Film Verdict

“Chie Hayakawa’s low-key, carefully considered dystopian drama, “Plan 75,” might be about death, but it sings with a great appreciation for living.” William Stottor, Loud and Clear Reviews

“Hayakawa’s quietly realist treatment of the dystopian premise makes for haunting viewing.” Sara Merican, Sight & Sound

“Haunting and thought-provoking, but nowhere as grim as it ought to be, this one sticks with you as every great work of science-fiction should.” Andrew Heskins, easternKicks.com

“It's a very, very moving and affecting film... It's terribly distressing, but it's very low-key, and it also actually allows itself to have moments of redemption in its later sections.” Mark Kermode, Kermode and Mayo’s Take

“In its double portrait of the neglected elderly and the guilty young, the film offers a timely, compassionate reaffirmation of family ties in a fast-changing world.” Tom Shone, Sunday Times (UK)

“With “Plan 75,” Hayakawa hauntingly confronts the spectator with what would happen if the existence of the subject was radically reduced by the government to how much he/she financially contributes to the society.” Pieter-Jan Van Haecke, Psychocinematography

“Baisho gives a wonderfully tender performance as someone who doesn’t want to end it but doesn’t know what to live for either, which we may all have coming.” Deborah Ross, The Spectator

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We are a non-profit, tax-exempt organization run by volunteers that only exists to bring you fine international fiction films and engage in stimulating discussion about them.

Hope that many of you will be at the August 8 screening of this extremely thought-provoking work!

Alan
Alan Singerman
President, Davidson Film Club
alsingerman@davidson.edu
(704) 231-6736