Natsuki the movie

Natsuki the movie was filmed, edited, produced and released by the Abroad in Japan YouTube channel. I am in no way affiliated or associated with the Abroad in Japan channel or its creator.

Image source - facebook.com/abroadinjapan

I watched this movie last night. It's only an hour long, but I was so engrossed that it felt more like 20 minutes. The movie follows Natsuki, a middle-aged, slightly eccentric Japanese hair dresser who takes a once in a lifetime trip to Europe in an attempt to escape the daily grind of working 12-15 hours a day in his hair salon.

From that description alone, you’ve probably already decided to skip this and move on to the next article on Steemit. But, wait! My writing fails to give the movie the credit it deserves. There is real narrative here.

Japan has a tradition and culture of working hard, harder than the person next to you, being the first one in the office and the last one out, going above and beyond in your duty to your company. Falling asleep at work is seen as a badge of honor because “well, you must have worked so hard that your body gave out on you”. There is even a word in Japanese that means “death from overwork” – Karoshi.

Only recently have the Japanese started to admit that this is a problem. The government are ‘taking measures’ to encourage workers to lighten their loads. They introduced a new national holiday – Mountain day – 2 years ago in an attempt to give workers more time off.

The whole story arch in Natsuki the movie is centered around this theme. I don’t think the Abroad in Japan channel intended for this to be the case, but due to the nature of work in Japan and the real scarcity in which they travel abroad, this ends up being the result of the film. Without giving anything away, the film starts by showing Natsuki in his daily life, he seems tired and worn down. He dreams of traveling to London to pay homage to Sid Vicious. Through the YouTube channel, he is able to take his trip of a lifetime and visit London and Paris. His journey is pleasant and enjoyable to watch, but it is at the end of the movie when everything comes together. He is back home and back in his daily grind, but he is completely rejuvenated, with a new outlook and a new energy for life.

I think this short, unplanned and off-the-cuff film has somewhat stumbled upon an answer to Japan’s Karoshi problem. Instead of the government asking people to finish work at 5 O’clock or assigning additional national holidays, the advice Japanese people should be getting is to leave Japan for a short while, get out there, experience other places, other cultures, other people and by doing so you may be able to find yourself.

Here is a link to Natsuki the movie