Honshin
Would knowing the truth about somebody you loved bring you happiness? This is a possible glimpse into our future and a critique of advancing technology.
Factory worker Ishikawa Sakuya (Ikematsu Sosuke) witnesses his mother (Tanaka Yuko) drowning in a river. One year later, after waking from a coma caused by an injury sustained while trying to save her, he discovers that she participated in government approved “elective death” programme, leaving Sakuya distraught and confused. Sakuya meets a developer (Tsumabuki Satoshi) of AI recreations of the dead built from harvested data and accessed through VR goggles, and commissions a ‘Virtual Figure’ of his mother. However, her digital image gradually reveals a side of her that Sakuya has never known. From AI to virtual beings to the controversial topic of assisted dying, it tackles urgent social issues while confronting audiences with the question of what we might feel when we finally learn the truth about others. (Subtitles)
Japan 2024 Ishii Yuya 122m
