Film: Death Notice: Ikigami
Release date: 7th March 2011
Certificate: 15
Running time: 128 mins
Director: Tomoyuki Takimoto
Starring: Shota Matsuda, Koji Tsukamoto, Riko Narumi, Takayuki Yamada, Akira Emoto
Genre: Drama/Fantasy
Studio: MVM
Format: DVD
Country: Japan
Tomoyuki Takimoto faithfully adapts three stories from Môtoro Mase’s seven volume manga Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit for the screen, where he explores themes of loss and mortality against a backdrop of a fictional Japan where the government rules through fear and a demand for unwavering allegiance from its citizens.
In a dystopian Japan, where CCTV monitors its citizens’ every move, the totalitarian government has implemented the Special Law for the Maintenance of National Prosperity, whereby all children are inoculated as they enter junior school.
While the majority of the inoculations are benign, one in every thousand carries a tiny radio controlled capsule which, on activation by the government when the condemned receive their ikigami (death notice) any time between the ages of 18 and 24, causes the recipient to fall down dead exactly twenty-four hours later. Upon receipt of this notice, the victims are given any food, lodgings and entertainment they desire at the state’s expense. If, however, they commit a crime during this time, they forfeit pension payment that the government pays to their family as a means of compensation. By enforcing such a tyrannous law, the government hopes that by instilling the fear of instant and unprejudiced death, young people will learn to appreciate life more, thus creating a more prosperous Japan
Kengo Fujimoto (Shôta Matsuda) has just qualified as a distributor of these death notices. Despite having serious concerns over the morality and humaneness of the government’s practices, especially with regards to their severe punishment of ‘thought crimes’ (forced ‘re-education’), Kengo embarks on his first assignment; to deliver an ikigami to 23-year-old up-and-coming musician Tsubasa Tanabe (Yuta Kanai). Soon after, he pays a somewhat more welcome visit to the reclusive son of the opposition party’s outspoken politician, who’s strained relationship with his parents causes him to flout the ‘no crime’ rule. Finally, Kengo must deliver to Satoshi Iizuka (Takayuki Yamada), a working class debt collector struggling to arrange his blind sister’s cornea transplant.
These three stories of the recipients of Kengo’s death notice intertwine to explore the many ways that people cope with death when forced to face its inevitability…
After a low key, grainy opening showing an ikigami recipient exacting revenge on a former bully, the pace slows dramatically, mirroring the regimented and bleak training Kengo must endure before he is qualified to deliver the death notices. A dull palette of greys and white is juxtaposed by the stark black suits of the marching salary men of this Orwell-inspired alternate Japan, with Big Brother watching their every move via an extensive network of CCTV (often shown from a POV shot, adding to the illusion). This slow pace threatens to disengage and alienate the viewer, but comes together as soon as the more human element comes to the fore. As Tsubasa and his busking partner take to the streets, the city comes to life with a bustling, more instantly familiar Japan enveloping Kengo in the human consequences of the law he is blindly enforcing.
The film’s emotional core is most present in, unsurprisingly, the different reactions of the characters on receipt of their death notices. Throughout their ordeals, Kengo acts as our witness, observing the events without interference (as he is instructed to do by his superiors) allowing for a restrained performance by Matsuda, which he uses to embody Kengo with a stoic professionalism which is perfectly tuned to his sterile surroundings, and makes his journey more engaging as he realises the effect these ikigami have on the Japanese youth and their families.
The first ikigami follows Tsubasa as he neglects his old band mate in favour of the promise of fame and fortune, which is arguably the most effective of the three stories, showcasing the character’s ability to deal with his impending death head on, and make the most of his last twenty-four hours. After using his free pass to order everything on the menu at a fancy restaurant, the musician rushes across town to attend the televised showcase of his duo’s new single (think Top Of The Pops), determined to realise his life’s ambition before succumbing to the inevitable. Meanwhile, his old busking partner is watching on television, along with the boy’s mother and Kengo (who is already questioning the regime). It is impossible not to be moved as the singer abandons the scheduled performance in favour of the song he used to play on the streets, while his friend watches from across the city and tearfully strums along. As the literal final curtain falls, Tsubasa becomes a figurehead for the anti-ikigami political movement. It is Yuta Kanai’s performance as Tsubasa that creates the emotional impact of this section, as his passionate performance channels all the confusion, unfairness and irrationality of his predicament into Komatsuna’s song, ‘Signpost’. It’s poignant and just on the right side of sentimental to remain effective.
The film does, however, forego some of this subtlety in the final act, opting for a more soap opera approach which somewhat pales in comparison to the emotional impact of Kengo’s previous encounter. This does little to dampen the subtleties of the rest of the film, which does well to offer an alternative to the similarly themed manga adaptations, such as Shusuke Kaneko’s Death Note and Kinji Fukasaku’s Battle Royale.
A well balanced and emotionally effective film, Death Notice: Ikigama stumbles at the final hurdle by relying a little too heavily on overt sentimentality, but is redeemed by its believable dystopian vision and some genuinely touching moments. RB
