If you like novels like 1984, Lord Of The Flies, The Giver or Hunger Games...You may like watching Ikigami, The Ultimate Limit. Set in an unknown but familiar looking future time; the population is contained and controlled by random selection. Children are inoculated when they enter school and sometime during their young adulthood; the 'chosen to sacrifice for prosperity' are given 24 hours notice of their death. The story begins here for the viewer. We get to follow one man (Shota Matsuda) who's job it is to inform the chosen that their death is nigh.
I found it incredibly interesting; the different reactions people had to this news. This story is more about the human condition, human reactions in the face of death with nothing left to lose. It is not a rousing tale of the populous rising up to over throw the oppression. It is dark, sad and really touching.
The color pallet of the film lends itself to this feeling. Dark blue lighting, cloudy days, windowless rooms and dank underground work places. There are glimpses of light just as their are glimpses of hope in the lives of those lived and those left behind.
I've never read the manga but I am curious now. I recommend this film highly and not just because I am a rabid fan of Matsuda Shota. But I am a fan for a reason besides the superficial. He is a great actor, with a rubber face, fearless emoting and the ability to go very dark. He can turn it on a dime and be comedic too but for that you will have to watch some of his other films and dramas.
The whole cast was stellar. I particularly loved Yuta Kanai and Yamada Takayuki. Their acting was amazing and their stories touched my heart.
This is a cool movie. Give it a try if you are in the mood for darker fare.
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If you have only 24 hours to live, what will you do with your remaining hours?
If death comes knocking at your door step, what would you do?
The main character, Kengo Fujimoto (Shota) was one of the "Ikigami" bearers. An Ikigami is a notice, sent by a messenger to the person who only has 24 hours to live as issued by the government. This law was done to prosper the country by lowering crime, death rate and increasing productiveness. It was meant to sacrifice a handful of innocent or not so innocent people, but nonetheless, these people are picked randomly, given an Ikigami notice then die after 24 hours through a capsule that was injected to the citizens during the preschool age acting as a time bomb. The story revolves around the people that Kengo gives the notices to, he somehow ends up following these people and disregard his agency's rules.
With a scene starting off with a violent act, the ending was pretty much unexpected. It was beyond my imagination that Ikigami would turn out like this. The film should be watched by many to learn more about the essence of life and living.
I love the soundtrack, the story line, the actors, everything about the film was great. The flow of the story was very simple and yet it leaves you thinking at the same time. For the theme song entitled SIGNPOST which was also sang in one of the scenes of the movie was incredible. The thought and lyrics of the song was something that has to be listened to carefully (or read in our part for those who can't understand Japanese).
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Story is what pulled me into this movie. Cast was what kinda kept me through the film. Music was ok; there was this scene were the violin piece just came in from nowhere and it was just so blatantly obvious, it made it horribly melodramatic.
Positive thing: I want to run my hands through Takayuki Yamada's long hair. I mean, even though his character looks and acts like a complete douchebag, just look at that hair. It's so shiny and it looks like he rewashes it for every scene. Glorious.
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