‘Plan 75’ filmmaker on the contrast between PH and Japanese cultures

Japanese filmmaker Chie Hayakawa (left) and Filipino-Japanese actress Stefanie Arianne

“Shockingly, this could really happen in Japan,” said Japanese filmmaker Chie Hayakawa, whose film, “Plan 75,” is about a government program that encourages senior citizens to be euthanized starting at age 75 to remedy an aging society.

“There were a lot who said the story is very real and is likely to happen in Japan. There are also those who said it should really happen,” Hayakawa told Inquirer Entertainment in a recent interview to promote the film’s local screenings.

“Japanese people want this option for personal security. A lot of them feel anxious and concerned about the issue since they have a very negative notion of becoming old. They want this not for their elderly, but for themselves,” Hayakawa explained.

The director, however, said she is very much aware of the contrast between Japanese and Filipino cultures, particularly in terms of how they treat their senior citizens. “We have shown this movie in different parts of the world, and most said this could very well happen to their society. In the Philippines, on the other hand, I was told that this would be impossible,” she began.

“Filipinos who will watch this will probably take pity on the Japanese for having this kind of society, and will most likely feel proud of their own. How Filipinos take care of their family, regardless of status and religion, is far from how the Japanese do it, or, at least, how they are depicted in the movie.”

Arianne as Maria in “Plan 75”

Very strong bond

It was knowing about this particular Filipino trait that Hayakawa insisted on putting a Filipino character in the film: Maria, a Japan-based caregiver who is determined to raise money for the medical operation of her daughter in Manila.

“First of all, it’s a reality that more and more Filipino caregivers are going to Japan to find work, as well as to fill up the shortage there. I know that Filipinos have a very strong bond with their families and their community. They help one another, something that Japanese people are already losing these days. I want to show that contrast with this Filipino character and the Japanese ones, who are relatively apathetic,” Hayakawa explained.

The director said it took her four years to develop the project. In order to explain further why she decided to create a film with this particular storyline, Hayakawa tried to recall an incident that happened in 2016, where a young man stabbed to death 19 patients staying in a facility for the disabled. She said that in the man’s manifesto, he explained that he did the crime thinking of “the greater good of the people, because disabled people are merely a burden for the country.”

Hayakawa added: “That was a shocking incident. I chose to share it with you to explain that this particular social atmosphere has already existed in Japan for a time. Through the film, I want to raise an objection to a society where people talk about the value of life based on people’s productivity.”

Issues of the elderly

She then said that, many years ago, there was an area in Japan that, in a way, promoted this kind of thinking. “When a family member turns 60, he is carried to the mountains and is left there to fend for himself. This is mostly because his family is so poor that it no longer has money to take care of him,” she pointed out.

“I want my audience to think and form their own opinion. Truthfully, it’s not that I’m interested in the issues of the elderly. It’s more of the fact that Japan, as a country, is intolerant of people who are unproductive, like the elderly, the disabled, and the poor. That’s what I am very much against—how these people are treated,” she pointed out.

Part of preproduction work, Hayakawa said, was reading newspapers and watching documentaries on Filipino caregivers in Japan. “While I was writing the script, I also interviewed four Filipino caregivers working there. One of them has a 5-year-old kid left in the Philippines. Her story inspired me to create Maria.”

Maria is played by Japan-based actress Stefanie Arianne, who is born to a Filipino mom and a Japanese father, and, incidentally, was raised by her grandmother until she turned 18.

Arianne flew to Manila with Hayakawa in November, partly to attend the 2022 QCinema International Film Festival, where the film competed, and also to promote the local screenings.

“I went to see Stefanie’s grandma, who is already 90 years old. I met her aunt’s family, too. I took part in their family bonding. Just by observing them, I knew that my imagination of a typical Filipino family was right,” Hayakawa said.

Asked what she hoped the Filipino audience would learn from the film and from Maria, Arianne said: “One time, Chie asked me, ‘What happens to a Filipino elder if he or she has no family?’ I didn’t know how to respond to her because this rarely happens. I’ve never heard of elderlies forced to live on their own in the Philippines. No matter what issues we have as a family, we still look out for each other. That’s what’s beautiful about our culture. It’s good that she was able to incorporate this in the film.”

Arianne continued: “I hope we will feel proud of how rich and beautiful our culture is. because we tend to romanticize other cultures. The film is also a reflection of how hardworking we are. We always persevere for the sake of our loved ones. Let’s show appreciation to our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers), who need to go through all those struggles while supporting their families back home.”

“Plan 75,” which is now screening in cinemas nationwide via TBA Studios, is co-owned by Loaded Films, Urban Factory and Fusee. It won the Special Mention award, under the Camera d’Or category, at the 75th Cannes Film Festival in France. It is also Japan’s official representative to the best international feature film category of the 95th Academy Awards.

The film will also have a limited run in Cinematheque centers of the Film Development Council of the Philippines in Manila, Iloilo, Davao, Bacolod City (Negros Center) and Nabunturan in Davao de Oro on the following dates: Dec. 16, 4:30 p.m., Dec. 17, 6 p.m., and Dec. 18, 5 p.m.