Blog

Recently JETAA partnered with the JCCC in their newly created Toronto Japanese Film Festival to sponsor the movie Ending Note: Death of a Japanese Salaryman.

 This story is about the final months of a Japanese salaryman, Tomoaki Sunada, who had retired from the board of directors of the company he worked for his entire life. He had recently been diagnosed with cancer and decided to live life to the fullest until he passed away.

The director of the film is the youngest daughter of Sunada-san. While the film starts and ends with the passing of Sunada-san, it is one of the most heartwarming testaments to life, family and love. A man who had spent his days focused on work and is estranged from his family discovers what is truly important to him — being a husband, father, grandfather and son. However, true to himself and ever the organized Japanese businessman, he begins to document and plan for his passing and types out his “ending notes”.

The two highlights of his journey is Sunada-san reconnecting with his wife, whom at the beginning of the film no longer lives in the same apartment with him, up until the final touching moments between the two, and his opportunity to become a grandfather to his three young granddaughters (one of whom is born during the film). While the film was touching overall, if I (or the audience) ever missed the free tissue samples that are so prevalent in Japan, it was during this movie. The entire movie was a mixture of laughter, joy or sorrow all bundled together.

 This was a one-time only experience but keep your fingers crossed and your eyes out for another viewing. You can’t miss this if it comes back to Toronto!