Hacker Cinema
Japan: A Story of Love and Hate
2008 · Film · documentary · 68 min
Directed by Sean McAllister
Naoki once had it all - the fast car, the executive home. Boss of his own business he lived the good-life when Japan's economy was at it's height. Then the bubble burst - and he met Yoshie.
4 positivefrom 4 commenters
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4 comments on Hacker News
Some of my favourites that I did not find mentioned here, the topics might not be that interesting but I appreciate these documentaries for the very "real" human interactions in them. (I am not sure how to word it better:
Japan: A Story of Love and Hate - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1401179/ Following a japanase salaryman throughout his every day life
Empire of Dust - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2148945/ Chinese company is building railways in Democratic Republic Kongo, documentary follows the chinese head of Logistics and his "partner" who is an congolese that speaks fluent mandarin
I'm new here - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7573428/?ref_=nm_knf_t4 African buisnessmen trying to make buisness in china
Invisible - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468496/ Very personal and intimate documentary of the everyday life of a group of heroin users in Sofia Bulgaria
Pakistan's Hidden Shame - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4173938/ From IMDB: A look into the sexual abuse suffered by the children living in the North-Western city of Peshawar in Pakistan.
A tough watch, comparably tough to An Act of Killing. I cried
Also I can recommended everything by Louis Theroux and to some degree Channel 5, if that qualifies as a documentary. I'd say that kind of content are more reportages, if I were to make a distinction
From the comments on this thread, it seems like the documentary “Japan: A Story of Love and Hate”[1] might not only be relevant, but also of interest to many of the commenters.
Coincidentally, I watched it from a recent recommendation on HN[2]. That comment has a link to stream the movie.
[1]: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1401179/
[2]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16779954
I recommend people watch Japan A story of love and hate (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x56bwzc) which, aside from being a great look at Japan, epitomizes the absurdity of exchanging our time for a salary that increasingly fails to cover the cost to live and leaves us without free time. 30,000 Japanese kill themselves each year due to work related stress.
Great quote from the doc:
Naoki:"You (the West) game me this f*cking Capitalist system 100 years ago..."
Cameramen: "And now you're rich"
Naoki: "Is this rich...is this a good system?"
I hope - and expect - that one day offices are viewed in the same way we view the factories of the early industrial age: prisons of drudgery and misery.
I'm not naive, civilization and its innumerable benefits (like actually being able to live past 65) has a cost. But the notion that sitting in traffic each morning to reach a room where one stares into a screen for 9 hours - every day, for 40 odd years - is desirable is the greatest con capitalism has ever pulled.
Some auxiliary watching for those who want a peek inside the life of a Japanese temporary employee is 'Japan A Story of Love and Hate' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH-kNnq7mFM).
It's a documentary on hopelessness, captured beautifully. Well worth an hour of your time.