Note: This article contains spoilers
As a fan of Japanese dramas, I was pleasantly surprised to see "The Last Mileage" on the big screen this year.
While many Japanese films have been introduced in recent years, they have mostly been animated features or pure romantic dramas, with very few tightly-paced commercial films that have gripping plots. "The Last Mileage" finally offers domestic movie fans a thrilling experience. Moreover, the film was introduced to our market just over two months after its premiere in Japan, setting a new record for the fastest release of a live-action Japanese film in our country.
Poster of "The Last Mileage"
As Japan's highest-grossing original film this year, "The Last Mileage" boasts an incredibly luxurious production team. Screenwriter Akiko Nogi and director Ayuko Tsukahara have collaborated on several widely acclaimed Japanese dramas ("Shōban de Shōkai," "Unnatural," "Mobile Investigation Team 404"), with "Unnatural" from 2018 attaining a remarkable Douban score of 9.5, marking it a classic in many people's hearts.
The cast also features top-tier actors well-known to Japanese drama audiences: Mitsushima Hikari, Okada Masaki, Abe Takashi, Ishihara Satomi, Matsushige Yutaka, and Hoshino Gen... With the exception of Matsushige Yutaka, the others are making their debut on the big screen in our country.
To leverage its prior acclaim and attract more viewers, "The Last Mileage" shares a worldview with "Unnatural" and "Mobile Investigation Team 404," allowing the lead actors from those dramas to appear in cameo roles. However, it is not an issue for those who haven't seen these two dramas, as the movie's plot stands completely independent, posing no barriers to understanding, just missing a bit of the joy of reuniting with old friends.
Set against the backdrop of the Black Friday shopping festival that takes place every November, the film narrates a suspenseful tale: the e-commerce giant Daily Express faces a series of explosive incidents involving their packages, sending shockwaves of panic throughout Japan's consumer market. The explosive items were all dispatched from Daily Express's Seibu-Takano Logistics Center, where the newly appointed manager, Erena Fudato (portrayed by Mitsushima Hikari), and her subordinate, manager Narimoto Ko (Okada Masaki), strive to maintain normal logistics operations while uncovering the truth and catching the perpetrator.
Still from "The Last Mileage"
In their previous dramas, the creative team showcased their concern for social issues, using the crime investigation genre to delve into labor issues, gender discrimination, among others.
The movie continues with this socially conscious perspective, weaving the story along two principal threads: one revolves around the logistics center, and the other focuses on the courier company. Through the lens of the explosive incidents, it reveals capitalism's exploitation and alienation of individuals in the relentless pursuit of profit, composing a lament for workers that resonates deeply with domestic audiences.
The logistics center narrative follows the perspective of Fudato, illustrating the lengths to which capital will go for its own interests: despite knowing that the dispatched products are at risk of explosion, they continue shipping them out to avoid affecting Black Friday sales; although they find evidence linked to the criminal, they delay reporting it to the police to prevent impacting stock prices, only notifying them the following weekend; even when the police arrive to inspect all products, they find ways to adjust shipping procedures to avoid affecting sales.
All these actions are justified under a grandiose slogan: “Customer First.” This phrase serves as a spell that seems to rationalize any behavior once uttered.
Why does the company seek to minimize the delivery fees to courier firms? To allow customers to purchase products at cheaper prices. Why do they keep medical supplies urgently needed by hospitals available for shipping, even when delivery issues arise? Because removing them from inventory would require customers to seek other suppliers, which is both time-consuming and bothersome.
Still from "The Last Mileage"
The company’s workers also bear the brunt of this exploitation. In a fully data-driven logistics center, workers have become mere cogs in a machine, with every action aimed at keeping the conveyor belt of logistics running efficiently. As time goes by, workers experience significant physical and mental strain.
The film presents a series of numbers to illustrate this suffering: 2.7m/s, 70, and 0. These numbers are inscribed on a locker belonging to an employee; the manager, Yamazaki, who wrote the numbers, jumped from a height in the logistics center five years ago due to overwhelming work stress, plunging onto the conveyor belt and remaining in a coma ever since.
The first two numbers represent the speed of the conveyor belt and its maximum load, while the last number, 0, can be interpreted in various ways. One interpretation suggests that Yamazaki wished to halt the conveyor belt with his death.
Ironically, even such a significant act as suicide only halted the conveyor belt for one minute. Once the disoriented Yamazaki was removed from the conveyor, it resumed operation immediately. Yamazaki believed that his death would awaken the company, but in comparison to the efficiency of the conveyor belt, the lives of employees are worthless to the company.
Another interpretation considers "0" not as a number, but as a closed curve, symbolizing the endless cycle of the conveyor belt. Yamazaki realized that the company would never stop the conveyor belt, and that staying in such an environment meant perpetual exploitation, which led him to despair and ultimately to his suicide.
Whichever interpretation one may take, it vividly illustrates capital's predatory nature in the relentless pursuit of profit.
Still from "The Last Mileage"
In the courier company thread, the film shifts to the perspective of a father-son pair of couriers, showcasing the broader impact of capital's profit-driven motives.
The father represents the quintessential Showa-era Japanese worker, proud of his job and believing that parcel delivery supports Japan's modernization. He often complains that his son takes too long to deliver parcels and spends too much time slacking off.
Conversely, the son, belonging to the Heisei generation, holds a completely different worldview. He previously worked at a company known for producing high-quality washing machines. However, the company went bankrupt due to its expensive materials, which couldn't compete with cheaper alternatives.
What disheartens the son even more is that his father, after working tirelessly as a courier for his entire life, hasn’t saved much money and is still out working at over seventy, earning a meager 150 yen per parcel. His older brother is also a courier, adhering to their father's values, working himself to exhaustion and ultimately succumbing to overwork.
The sense of honor and responsibility towards work did not lead to a better life for the workers; instead, it became a shackle, turning them into capital's exploited beasts of burden. This is why the son's pointed question leaves his father speechless: Are we really the ones keeping the country running? No one cares about us!
Still from "The Last Mileage"
The explosive incidents associated with parcel delivery that shocked Japan represent the insignificant individual’s retaliation against colossal capital. Triggered by explosions, everyone from company executives to frontline couriers is forced to reevaluate the injustices and exploitations they have come to accept as routine.
Of course, amidst such grand social issues, it's challenging for a film to present any solutions. At the end of the film, the strike initiated by the courier company resulted in success, with delivery fees rising from 150 yen to 170 yen, but that's the extent of the resolution. The relentless pursuit of profit and efficiency continues, and the conveyor belt will keep running; employees remain just cogs in the machine; hence, Fudato sends a warning to higher-ups: future explosive incidents are inevitable.
Nevertheless, for a film, successfully unfolding a tightly woven narrative full of twists and suspense within two hours, while prompting viewers to reflect on reality, qualifies it as a remarkable commercial film.
Still from "The Last Mileage"
If I were to nitpick, it would be that while the viewing process is exhilarating, pushed along by a series of twists and conflicts, many details felt too rough upon reflection. Perhaps due to limited runtime, various plot elements felt abrupt and lacked convincing depth.
For instance, Yamazaki's suicide from five years earlier is the source of the parcel delivery explosions, but upon closer examination, it raises many questions: the film fails to clarify exactly how Yamazaki was exploited by the company, only offering indirect insights through Fudato’s words. In the initial two years at the company, Fudato brimmed with energy, but by the third year, she began to feel worn out, requiring psychological treatment and various medications, likely similar to Yamazaki's situation.
But does that warrant suicide? Many managers in the same position eventually left the company; why didn’t Yamazaki choose to do the same? The film provides no explanation.
On another note, the transformation of Fudato from the protagonist's perspective feels somewhat forced. In the first half, she embodies the image of a laborer doing everything to protect the company's interests, obstructing police investigations. Yet after narrowly escaping a bomb incident, she suddenly becomes a staunch advocate for workers' rights, actively pursuing the case and negotiating with company executives for wage increases. This abrupt change feels a bit contrived, merely serving the plot's requirements.
If this subject were adapted into a Japanese drama, with more time devoted to elaborating on each character's experiences and transformations, the overall effect would likely be much more satisfying compared to the current hasty film format. However, despite these grievances, "The Last Mileage" remains a film worth watching, as evidenced by its Douban score of 8.0, which reflects the audience's appreciation. I hope to see more Japanese commercial films like this in the future.
