Do Unto Others/Lost Care is a thought-provoking and compelling drama/thriller.

 

Do Unto Others/Lost Care was a tough watch for me. It deals with the topic of care giving and dealing with family members that have developed mental disabilities and illnesses such as Alzheimers and Dementia. My grandmother had been diagnosed with cancer when she then also developed Dementia. She was placed into a care home and the family visited her pretty much everyday. Most of the time she didn't recognise any of us, it was very rare that she did. It was disheartening, saddening to see such a strong woman, the bedrock of the family, reduced to such a sorry state. By the end, she became quite thin, her hair turned grey after she had stopped dying it and she held onto a rosary, calling for Mary to take her into the afterlife. She also seemingly saw her deceased mother. As a result, I could relate to those in the movie going through similar scenarios with their parents. 

Munenori Shiba works for Yaga Care Center, taking care of elderly clients whom have issues that make them unable to care for themselves and their families struggle to look after them. Working alongside Shiba is the eager newcomer, Yuki Adachi, a bright young lady that looks up to Shiba due to his dedication to the job and veteran caregiver, Mariko Inoguchi. Shortly after working, their boss Dan Tanamura, a man struggling with debt, turns up dead in the home of one of their clients. The client is also dead when the police arrive on the scene. 

During the investigation, prosecutor Hidemi Otomo interrogates the trio of care givers and their co-workers to get the truth of what happened. Nobody is truly suspected in regards to the bosses death with it being determined as a drunken accident until a surveillance camera is found showing Shiba in his car near the premises where the deaths occurred. Surprising everybody, Shiba confesses that he went to the premises under the guise of checking on the client, when he stumbled upon his boss in the process of robbing them. Following a disagreement based on the theft and morals, Shiba claims that his boss struck him in the head and then fell down the stairs to his death in a scuffle. Further investigation reveals that a shockingly high number of Yaga Care Center patients have died in what is most likely to be foul play, causing Otomo to question Shiba some more. 

Do Unto Others/Lost Care is a very thought provoking drama/thriller. Munenori Shiba offers the audience an argument in favour of euthanaisa. He basically cites the fact that the elderly clients are very much gone, their mental faculties no longer properly functioning and they're just barely living with no purpose to them. He also states that the families of the patients are being overburdened and pushed close to breaking point by having to constantly watch over them. In his own words, he truly believes that he is saving them by ending the lives of the patients. This is of course rebuked by Hidemi Otomo and I'm glad she pushed back, even if I think she could have gone further with it. What gives Shiba the right to decided whether or not a family is robbed of a loved one? 

There's some really solid cinematography throughout the movies' runtime. A wide variety of shot types, camera angles and techniques used. A lot of reaction shots during dialogue and emotional scenes emphasise and highlight various characters reactions, over the shoulder shots help give some style to certain scenes and there's some gorgeous moving shots, mostly panning, that give scenes some extra flair. It's rather clear that Tetsu Maeda had a clear vision of what he wanted and ensured that it came to fruition. He's a director that knows when to keep a camera still and when to add some dynamism. He was also helped due to the fact that he co-wrote the script, ensuring that he had input during the creative process. My favourite shot was the very opening shot. It was a panning shot that first focused on the car which carried main character Hidemi Otomo before panning to reveal the gathered crowd whom were witnessing the police investigating the death of a resident that happened to be Otomo's father. 

What makes the movie work in my opinion is the performances of the cast. Kenichi Matsuyama is a very versatile performer and he really turned in a tremendous performance as Munenori Shiba. He managed to convey emotion and did a lot with mere body language and facial expressions. His scenes with Akira Emoto were the most emotional and impactful scenes of the movie, especially in one scene where Shosaku has a moment of lucidity in which he practically begs his son to kill him and let him 'die as a human'. Credit also has to go to Akira Emoto for those scenes as he really sold the emotion and turmoil within a poor, unfortunate addled soul well. 

Masami Nagasawa was beautiful as always as prosecutor Hidemi Otomo. Her performance was that of a veteran of the screen. The scenes with her mother were quite hard to watch due to it reminding me of my grandmother, complete with the Christianity of her mother, but that means they did a great job! Her scenes with Matsuyama were also brilliant, with the pair playing off of each other quite well.

Overall, I do think that Lost Care was a good movie as it was thought provoking and a reflection on society in regards to care giving. It's a tough watch, but it is well worth it if you're into dramas.