Caregivers are in short supply in Japan as the country¡¯s population ages and shrinks. Though municipalities do dispatch so-called home helpers to individuals in need, round-the-clock care remains rare, leaving family members to fill the gaps.
Such is the dilemma facing Tasuku (Soma Santoki), a high school senior looking after his mother, Misaki (Miho Kanno), in Shun Nakagawa¡¯s semi-autobiographical drama ¡°90 Meters.¡± She suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive disease of the nervous system that has left her totally dependent on others.
Based on the director¡¯s own caregiving experiences, the film¡¯s premise sounds almost too sad to watch. The teen has to not only be present at his mother¡¯s terminal decline day after day, but also give up his normal life. While his classmates chat about going to karaoke after school, he trudges home and carries his mother from the bed to the toilet and back.
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