Plan 75

A thought-provoking and deeply intelligent sci-fi-tinged social drama set in Japan where the elderly are encouraged to terminate their life once they are no longer seen as being ‘useful’ to society

Words: Zoe Crombie

It seems that the concept of ‘productivity’ has been getting a lot of attention recently. Between headlines debating whether we should introduce a four-day work week to relentless TikToks about waking up at 5am for maximum efficiency, it’s hard not to think of yourself in terms of how much you’ve achieved that week, month or year. Writer and director Chie Hayakawa’s Plan 75 provides a harsh critique of this manner of thinking by following the idea through to its logical conclusion – why live at all if you can’t contribute to society?

The title of the film refers to its dark central premise: a controversial new programme introduced by the Japanese government that allows – or really encourages – residents over 75 to be ‘euthanised’, generously giving them a small grant to

Director: Chie Hayakawa

Starring: Chieko Baishô, Hayato Isomura, Stefanie Arianne Akashi live in luxury for their last week or so of life. Moving between several characters, from an older woman going through the process to a young salaryman growing disillusioned with his place in this new system, the film functions as a fascinating slice of a society that’s only a hop, skip and a jump from our own.

Though the central messages of the film can be applied to capitalist societies the world over – Scotland included – its specificity as a Japanese film makes Plan 75 all the more intriguing. On one level, there is legitimately a large elderly population who are often left isolated – Japan is even famous for its ‘terminal villages’, in which the populations are almost entirely OAPs who will leave the town empty in a matter of a few short years. More importantly, you have Japan’s culture of the school to university to intense office job pipeline that ultimately leaves many stranded, with anyone unable to fulfil these obligations left on the fringes of society. But dissatisfaction with the 9 to 5 – or the 8 to 7 as it is for so many of us – certainly isn’t regional, and Plan 75 truly captures the paradox of needing to feel useful, but despising the feeling of being used.

There’s much beauty to Plan 75’s dark premise thanks to Hideho Urata’s stunning cinematography, which is reminiscent of Japanese classics like Tokyo Story (1953). This gorgeous framing of the mundane highlights the achingly gorgeous stillness of daily life and implicitly undermines the callousness of the Plan 75 legislation. This quiet distance also allows for a higher degree of contemplation, creating a movie open to interpretation that isn’t just interested in preaching against its premise.

Often the dystopian politics of speculative fiction films end up being too on the nose, but Plan 75 never crosses this line, respecting the viewers’ intelligence enough to let them evaluate the central idea themselves. This is the rare film that encourages introspection and thought in a landscape of blockbusters that spoon-feed viewers and smooth over the rough edges of their messages.

Plan 75 is released 12 May by Curzon

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