Ikigami (Ikigami, 2008), by Takamoto Tomoyuki is a drama film based on a manga by Mase Motoro. The film takes place in Japan where there is a law that requires all children, upon entering an elementary school, to receive a vaccine. 1 in 1000 vaccines contains a deadly nano-capsule that will explode in the dorsal artery and lead the subject to death on a set date when the subject is between 18 and 24. This so-called “National Prosperity Maintenance Law” is supposed to make citizens appreciate the value of their life and increase the productivity of the nation as any young adult aged between 18 and 24 fears that he or she could be the unfortunate one to die for the country. The title of this film Ikigami refers to the death letter which is delivered to the young adult 24 hours prior to his or her inevitable death. This letter allows the dying young adult to enjoy free transportation, food, travelling, and other privileges. The two distinctive features of this film are the use of middle-shots and close-ups.
The film mainly revolves around the protagonist Fujimoto Kengo (Matsuda Shota) and the three young adults to whom Fujimoto delivers the Ikigami. The first unfortunate young adult who receives the ikigami is a street musician called Tanabe Tsubasa (Kanai Yuta) who gets scouted by a famous music company and forms a duet group with someone else while his partner, Morio Hidekazu (Tsukamoto Takeshi), gives up on his dream to become a music star. The second recipient of the ikigami is Takizawa Naoki (Sano Kazuma) who is the son of a politician, Takizawa Masako (Fubuki Jun) who had been brainwashed as she tried to save his son from receiving the vaccine and is now a passionate advocate for the very system she stood against. The third young adult, Iizuka Satoshi (Yamada Takayuki) is a dishonest, but warm-hearted elder brother of Iizuka Sakura (Narumi Riko) who lost her sight and her parents in a car accident. Upon receiving the ikigami, the three young adults first become upset and go into major emotional breakdowns; however, they all come to accept the reality and strive to live their life to its fullest in the last 24 hours of their life. The protagonist Fujimoto, though he works for the Ministry of Health and Welfare, has doubts about the prosperity law and acts against the rules of an ikigami deliveryman.
In the film, there are middle-shots from the view of a surveillance camera where the focus is on Fujimoto standing still and gazing at the camera while people in uniform costumes are all walking by in the same direction. In one early scene, Fujimoto is at a train station with men and women in suit passing by, and in a scene near the end of the film, he is standing in front of the gate of an elementary school with children entering the school, soon to be injected with the vaccine. In the earlier scene, the camera focuses on Fujimoto looking compassionately at a TV which displays the people who honorably died for the country. At this time, he has doubts about the prosperity law, but he nevertheless performs his duties as ordered. In the later scene, Fujimoto is glaring at the camera while his narration says, “in this country, there is freedom, peace, and wealth, but a handful of the population is unexpectedly abandoned without mercy.” This suggests that he has become certain that the government system is corrupted and it needs to be changed. The camerawork focusing on Fujimoto in the two scenes are important as they show how his encounters with the ikigami recipients change Fujimoto’s attitude toward the prosperity law.
Throughout the film, the camera closes up on the face of Fujimoto. Right after the scenes in which the ikigami recipients reach their final moment, the camera focuses on Fujimoto who closes his eyes and shuts his mouth firmly showing compassion toward the dying young adult and frustration as all he cannot do anything but watch them die. Although Fujimoto’s role in the film is essentially a messenger of death who delivers a death sentence to young adults, these full-face shots of him showing great compassion conveys an impression that he is not just a cold-hearted messenger of ikigami and is likely to induce empathy as he struggles to follow orders and perform his duties while having doubts about the whole law.
Ikigami is a thought-provoking film with many tear-inducing scenes. Although idea of maintaining the nation’s prosperity by sacrificing the lives of young adults seems rather absurd at first, but it is intriguing to imagine what would happen if this system really existed. In addition to the great storyline, this film has many famous actors such as Matsuda Shoto, Tsukamoto Takashi, and Yamada Takayuki. This film is highly recommended for those people who like sentimental films.