The Man Who Failed to Die
The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2026: Knowing Me, Knowing You: The True Self in Japanese Cinema.
Co-presented by the Japan Foundation.
Supported by the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation.
After life? Re-life?
SEKIYA Ippei (MIZUKAWA Katamari of the comedy duo Kuuki Kaidan), who works as a comedy sketch writer, has grown weary of society’s harshness and a life without reward. Nothing has gone as planned. One day, he decides to end it all by jumping from a train platform. Just as he is about to do so, a fatal accident occurs at the neighbouring station, forcing him to reconsider. After looking into it, Ippei discovers that the man who died was named MORIGUCHI Tomohiro (MASANA Bokuzo), and he even sneaks into the funeral as a stranger. When he returns home, however, he is confronted by a strange figure — Tomohiro’s ghost.
Forcing Ippei to feel grateful that he survived where Tomohiro did not, the ghost makes an astonishing request: to kill the man who has been stalking his daughter, MORIGUCHI Aya (KARATA Erika). Haunted by the persistent ghost, who vows not to leave him until the deed is done, Ippei begins to investigate the stalker — Aya’s abusive ex-husband, WAKAMATSU Katsutoshi (KYAN Yutaka).
Meanwhile, Tomohiro’s intervention continues, and when Ippei struggles to come up with new ideas for a comedy sketch, he even suggests what to write, offering clever guidance and encouraging Ippei to see the world differently. Through the process of creating the script, an unlikely friendship begins to blossom between the two. Soon, Ippei comes to understand the true reason behind Tomohiro’s abrupt and untimely death.
Blending dry humour with the supernatural, TANAKA Seiji — who made a sensational international debut with Melancholic (2018) — delivers a uniquely entertaining film that moves effortlessly between comedy, mystery, and unexpected warmth, in a story where the living and the dead find unlikely common ground.
Contains mild violence.
Screenings
CAMERA JAPAN Festival 2025
