Death Of A Japanese Salesman

Tomoaki Sunada embodies the archetype of a Japanese businessman; stiffly dressed, busy and far from home. His career has also been a textbook example; after more than 40 years of service in the same company, he made it to head of the sales department.

For the man who had spent his ‘free’ time with business dinners and business deals on the golf course, his retirement was accompanied by mixed feelings. But then the ever-calculating Sunada was diagnosed with cancer in an advanced stage.

But here no drawn-out serenades of sorrow or close-ups of the corners of the eyes to be found here, but an almost frivolous account of the man’s last year of life, which, as befits a real salary man, is planned down to the last detail, from the outings with his grandchildren to even his conversion to Catholicism. A Catholic funeral is ‘cheaper’ after all.

This movingly beautiful documentary is by Sunada’s own daughter, Mami. Mami Sunada has already earned her stripes as assistant director to the unsurpassed grandmaster of subtle drama, Hirokazu Kore-eda, who is also the producer of this film. ‘Death of a Japanese Salesman’ unsurprisingly breathes the spirit of Kore-eda’s masterpieces such as Nobody Knows (Grand Prix of the Ghent Film Festival in 2004 and also good for the Golden Palm for Best Actor) and the equally grandiose Still Walking.

Moreover, the special relationship between subject and director gives us a very lifelike and moving view of Japanese family life and the way in which they deal with joy and sorrow. Or to put it with an English quip: “At the end of the day, we’re all not that different”.

All images: © 2011 “Death Of A Japanese Salesman”