An Ant Strikes back (2019)

	Also Known As: Ari jigoku tengoku (original)
	Year of first release: 2019
	Director: Tsuchiya Tokachi
	Actors: -
	Country: J
	Genre: Documentary
	Conditions of visioning: 08.06.2020, NCF2020, 14" computer screen
Synopsis: The case of a moving company sales agent who decides to no longer accept illegal employment contract clauses and a humiliating work environment.
Review: This is the first movie we watched at the Nippon Connection Online Festival, and in that case it is a nice re-immersion in Japanese culture. A documentary that shows us a life far from what we know in the Western Countries. People working hard for the love of their company. But what happens when this company follows the principles of American ones like Wallmart or McDonalds? This leads to abuses that few people other than the Japanese would take: unpaid extra-hours (and I mean 40 hours a week extra!), holidays only if compensated with extra-hours, you have to pay for anything you break like a paper shredder but even a car, and not mentioning the racism and discrimination. It is hard to understand why the guy just doesn't quit, but in fact this is what is noble from him, not simply accept the situation, give up and leave others suffer after him. The main character that we follow is an example of courage and determination, even facing an adversary much bigger than him. One also wonders: what does the law do against such obviously illegal abuses? In the end it does its job, but it wouldn't have happened with years of fight from a supportive Union. I hope not all companies in Japan are like that. The Documentary itself is more of an advertisement for this story, something the main character promised to do to a friend who died from overworking (like one person a day in Japan as we learn). Nothing special about the editing or storytelling, rather straight-forward, and it could probably have been shortened to 1 hour for the same impact. So I cannot rate the movie-making skills very high, even though the topic is heart-breaking, and deserved to be broadcasted more, in Japan and outside.
Rating: 4 /10