Following a mysterious powercut which affects all electrical appliances, including battery operated devices, a Tokyo family set out on a journey across the country to relatives in rural Kagoshima. The Suzukis are a typical city family, the children addicted to their mobile phones and computers and almost entirely reliant on technology in every aspect of their life. We see the children’s disdain for their grandfather after he sends the family a fish he has caught. When they wake up to find that all electricity is off in the city they at first struggle to adjust, having to walk the 10 floors down to the ground floor rather than take the elevator; needing to rely on bicycles rather than public transport; and being unable to perform many everyday tasks that have become commonplace. As the power-cut drags on they make the decision to set off on bicycles to reach their distant relative, in the hopes that things are different there.
Writer-director Shinobu Yaguchi crafts an interesting modern-day parable about society’s over-reliance on technology and the way that it affects humans both individually and socially. The spoilt children, Yui and Kenji, played by Wakana Aoi and Yuki Izumisawa, will be familiar to many along with their cossetted city-life. Their parents, played by Fumiyo Kohinata and Eri Fukatsu also do a great job as a married couple who have been through a lot together and fallen into a predictable, staid routine. The event leading to the powercut is left vague and is of little importance; instead the film focusses on the effects it has on the family’s relationships and how they engage with the world. There is a mythical quality to much of their story, being a modern day odyssee with unusual characters and events, such as the blind women who lead travellers through a dark tunnel, or their attempts to catch and later butcher a pig. As the film progresses it begins to shift from a lighthearted comedy about a seemingly temporary inconvenience to something darker, hinting at a genuinely apocalyptic possibility if humanity were to lose power indefinitely. The central cast do a great job as the family, capturing the parent-child relationships filled with fidelity and frustration. There are some moments of high drama, in particular when they come to cross a river, or are set upon by wild dogs, and humourous interludes, such as the father begrudgingly accepting help from a troupe of cyclists who seem perfectly content in this new world, self-sufficient on a diet of weeds and stream-water. The bucolic scenes, complemented by a beautiful score, show us the beauty alongside the terror, highlighting the things we often miss in our self-obsessed, media-focussed world.
“Survival Family” is a film that asks what would happen to a modern family if they were stripped of home comforts and forced to fend for themselves. It highlights the strength of humans to survive in difficult situations while also questioning our over-reliance on technology and how this affects our relationships not only with each other but with the world around us. At the conclusion of the film there is no doubt that the characters are left with a healthier attitude to life, less selfish, and more connected to their daily experiences. An interesting premise that is well-executed with an entertaining cast and several dramatic twists.
