I'd like to know how different people, Japanese and non-Japanese, relate to the film. Is this a clearly universal story or is it only applicable for mainstream Japanese audiences?
Who would you say this film is aimed at (mainstream, art-house, Japanese, non-Japanese, families, youth)?
How much Japanese do you find the film to be?
And has the film changed your ideas about contemporary society in Japan?
I don't see it as an exclusively Japanese story. I think this movie can apply pretty well to people living in most of the industrial capitalist countries, where, under neoliberalism and "globalization", life is becoming increasingly precarious for tens of millions of people where there once was greater security. The thing about the rat race is that someone eventually wins, and when someone wins everyone else loses, at which point human beings are tossed out like yesterday's trash. Lives are destroyed. Ryuhei was laid off because he couldn't compete with lower-paid workers in underdeveloped countries. Failing to generate enough profit for the owners, he was thrown out to fend for himself. We see the consequences as his family is ripped apart. Under capitalism, the value of human life is measured in how much profit you can generate for the ownership class. Those who can't generate enough are expendable.
I think there are some uniquely Japanese aspects to the story, but the basic story in general can apply to people in many places. I think working class Americans in particular could relate to it.
"The comfort of the rich depends upon an abundant supply of the poor."
- Voltaire