Accuracy of Death

I have always enjoyed Japanese movie or drama more than Taiwanese or Korean. Japanese movies or drama often do not just tell a story, but rather also to highlight certain philosophy. Given the rave reviews that surround the latest Japanese movie starring Takeshi Kaneshiro, I am dying to feel the inspiration again.

Takeshi Kaneshiro was a grim reaper who liked music and was slightly rusty with the latest lingo of the world. For instance, he had amazed some of his targets with his incomprehension of phases such as "pick up girls" and "running noses". He defied all the common images of a grim reaper of someone with a hood and a scythe. Instead, he looked like ordinary you and me on the streets but with a pair of white gloves.

The movie had a poignant start. The grim reaper attended the wake of a ten-year old girl. At the wake, he chatted with a young girl at the wake when she immediately identified him as the grim reaper. The girl was actually the one who had passed on.

The first target was a 27-year-old office lady who lived life in a monotony. She had attempted suicide many times because she felt that she has jinxed when all her loved ones had passed away in succession. She felt that she was always embraced in bad luck whenever she tossed coin to make decisions or attempted to predict the outcome. The grim reaper was to spend the last few days with her and made the final decision on whether she should be given a second chance to live. The grim reaper decided to give her a second chance when she was accidentally discovered as a singer.

The second target was a Yakuza member whose purpose in life was to seek revenge for his leader. He died of a traffic accident instead of at the confrontation with another team. The grim reaper decided that he should still die because this target had already achieved his purpose in life. The last target was a 70-year-old hairdresser who felt that she had already achieved the purpose in life and was ready to go.

The movie adopted a funnier outlook of death which we often shied away from. The three targets appeared to be distinct from one another yet they were linked in their destinies one way or another. The grim reaper always asked the targets what they felt about death. Only the last target asked the grim reaper himself what he felt about death.
- There might be nothing special about death but death was important.
- One should live today like there is no tomorrow.
- Everyone will die. It is a matter of time.

This may not be as romantic as "Meet Joe Black". This may not be as witty as Death Note. Yet, I still feel that it sets one thinking about death and life. Many little details in the movie which might seem distinct but they were not superfluous as they were there to tell us something. The habit of the first target of tossing the coin highlighted that there were two sides of everything, eg good versus bad and life versus death. This habit which was also observed for the young Yakuza member hinted some linking between the first target and this member.

Different viewers might have different interpretations of the statements and events. It was truly an enjoyable show.