Adapted from the 2013 novel by Aki Hamanaka, Do Unto Others directed by Tetsu Maeda is a dramatisation of Japan’s ongoing morality debate on the subject of euthanasia. What initially starts out as a criminal detective story, soon leads audiences into questioning their own position on the very touchy subject of assisted death of elderly patients suffering from degenerative diseases such as dementia.
A spate of deaths amongst the elderly community under the care of the Yaga Care Center, as well as the murder of the care center’s manager causes detective Hidemi Otomo (played by Masami Nagasawa) to investigate the seemingly quiet and empathetic carer Munenori Shiba (Kenichi Matsuyama). What is soon revealed is that the unassuming and mysterious Munenori is in fact, a prolific serial killer with 42 victims under his belt. Munenori murders elderly patients in order to relieve not only the patients of their suffering, but also their family carers of the“burden”, stemming from his own past experience of caring for his incapacitated father. As Detective Otomo furthers her interrogation, she must also come to terms with her own situation concerning her mother who suffers from dementia and is living in an assisted care facility.
The tonal shift from crime story to a tearjerker tale of humanity’s struggle with moral grey areas is not an entirely smooth enough transition, which in turn causes Do Unto Others to feel disjointed in terms of both theme and narrative. Aligning the audience’s sympathy with a serial killer with a misplaced sense of justice whose victims are incredibly vulnerable people, is not the best way to debate the highly touchy subject of euthanasia and the impact that palliative care has on families and carers of those experiencing dementia and other degenerative illnesses. Despite incredibly strong performances from both Nagasawa and Matsuyama, Do Unto Others would have benefited substantially by also examining the effect Munenori’s crimes had on the victims’ familial carers left behind after their deaths, adding an increased depth to the moral quandary of whether sympathetic euthanasia has a place within society.
Do Unto Others
Summary
What initially starts out as a criminal detective story, soon leads audiences into questioning their own position on the very touchy subject of assisted death of elderly patients suffering from degenerative diseases such as dementia.
Do Unto Others was reviewed as part of the The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme. The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2024 takes place in cinemas around the UK from 2 February – 31 March 2024. For further information please head here.
