Excuse me, sir...
I see. Thank you.
Miss Nakamura, list a new job posting.
Letter of Resignation
Yes? What else?
I really tried my best.
I know. And?
I can't keep up with you.
Certainly because of my own incapacities... but
it's still all too much.
I know. That's why you quit.
You can go now.
I'm not the only one who feels this way.
Listen up, Shiraki.
And listen well.
The company doesn't belong to me, but to the stockholders.
The bigger it gets, the farther away it moves from me.
All I can do is to try and hold on.
No time to waste. Enemies everywhere.
I need competent workers.
Not the incapable or discouraged.
No time to listen to the complaints of quitters.
Did you think I was going to help you?
Did you think we were friends?
Get out of here!
Replacements are easy to find.
I've got work to do!
Report to Ichiyama.
Yes, Mr Haidegawa, sir!
Sorry for not calling.
The Development Team is working overtime.
We still need a little longer.
I'll explain to the client.
Yes, of course. It's my responsibility.
I'm well aware.
My apologies. Goodbye.
The TV's at 10? Yes.
I'm going out.
Where to, sir?
Recital. My daughter.
But, sir, the meeting at 3!
Sir, did you hear about Haidegawa?
Don't worry. It's fine.
With Shiraki gone, who'll see to it?
Haidegawa will calm down when the job's done.
But Sakaki stopped.
He did what? Don't go in!
He's taking a nap.
Sakaki!
I told you!
Mission impossible!
Where are you going? What about Haidegawa!
You can handle it. I'm sure.
This is not like you.
You'll be fine without me.
Hi!
We're ready.
Good evening.
What's that?
Videos of my lost loved ones.
Did you shoot them?
I'm thinking about it.
I'm the one who shot them. Last year at Yokohama Cosmo World.
I know.
You worry me!
But we reap what we sow.
Just forget them!
Nonomiya, did you sleep with my wife?
Are you crazy?
My company's going under.
Really? That's good. Really good.
The Internet bubble finally bursts.
What will happen next?
What do I do?
Don't ask me.
Just like Japan. Whatever will be, will be.
Sleep with Akira again.
What do you mean "again"?
Can you prove that I slept with her?
You're depressed. Get a divorce.
Move on.
Put it behind you.
You're on in 10 minutes, alright?
You're on next.
NAGAI Kyoji, 36: Founder of Soft Real. Com,
Japan's most innovative software company.
Listed on the Singapore exchange in 2000.
Married. One daughter.
I started in my dorm room at Berkeley.
I transformed my bathroom into a workshop.
I installed a second phone line. The university knew nothing.
Making the most of what's at hand. No overreaching.
That's the essence of our company spirit.
Those who started out that way are the strongest.
Look at Apple founder Steve Jobs.
He pulled through because he has what it takes.
He decides to win. There are no compromises.
He changed the world from universities to Wall Street.
He crawled out of hell and made a comeback.
If my company ever fails, I'd bounce back, too. Like him.
There's little chance of that happening.
But in this industry, anything can happen anytime.
Bad things don't happen all at once.
They're silently waiting all around us.
At 300 exchanges per day with our stockholders,
we have to stay alert.
No time to relax.
You're different from those companies
listed by NASDAQ or Tokyo Market 2.
Soft Real is the first capital risk company to be quoted overseas.
Soft Real made its bow in Singapore.
Why did you choose overseas?
The first Japanese company quoted abroad was Sony.
Is there any better example?
The heart of the IT industry is in Asia.
Among the Asian markets,
it's normal to choose Singapore, so well connected to the West.
I still feel this way.
When we get what we want, it disappears.
Only the delusion remains.
Keechie...
do you always watch TV with your clients?
There are only 2 ways to escape futility.
We can do nothing or we can go for it all.
It's impossible for me to do nothing.
So I decided to go for it all.
Is it interesting?
It takes courage to endure the endless routine.
I don't get it.
He's talking about the fall of capitalism.
Understand?
What's capitalism?
Our relationship.
What a business!
Turn it off and go home.
Next session?
I'll call you.
For you. From Saint Petersburg.
Excuse me...
There are strangers in my room.
You want me to call someone?
No, can't you come and check yourself?
I step inside and you knock me out with that.
I'll wake up next to some dead body. And you'll be gone.
Do I look like I'd do that?
No.
That's what worries me.
Whatever. Probably a delusion.
Did you see them?
Who?
Never mind. I know them.
It was just a dream.
Tsuyoshi...
imagine you want some money.
But when you get it,
that money you wanted doesn't really exist anymore.
Get it?
Not at all.
The money you wanted is just a delusion.
What are you talking about?
Beats me.
Let's go.
That's a wrap!
Let's have a drink.
Was I too serious? You were fine.
Student mentality hasn't changed much.
You never really liked students.
Yet I produce a late night show for students.
Life is strange. Let's get that drink.
I have to go.
I have to look for my wife and kid.
Forget that. You're overworked.
Go home and get some sleep.
Can't you find them for me?
That would be tough.
I could ask my assistant.
It's no use.
Families are invisible.
Come on... Don't speak in riddles.
Have you ever been bitten by a woman?
Your wife, Akira, bites?
I have to see her before the divorce.
Take some friendly advice...
Get some rest.
Thanks. See you.
Hey.
Where am I?
You were lying on the road...
passed out.
What were you doing there?
That's where I live.
I found those on you.
I took one.
I thought they were sleeping pills.
What's your name?
Keechie.
Water... Want some?
Hey, last night...
weren't you on TV?
Nice home.
You must be really rich.
It's only...
a house.
Just a building.
You said...
"When we get what we want,"
"it disappears."
Was that it?
Only the delusion remains.
Good memory.
You were referring to your wife and kid, weren't you?
What makes you say that?
I hate rich people.
That's why I know what they're all about.
I survive by sucking their blood.
I whore myself.
How much?
Are you buying?
What do you charge?
50,000 yen.
I'll give you 10 times that.
For my wife and daughter.
Find them for me.
When you find them, seduce my wife...
Sleep with her.
You're crazy.
Sleep with my wife.
Ask her how it was.
Then...
ask her who was better,
you or her husband.
You've got weird trips!
Will you do it?
Or won't you?
I'll do anything for money.
I haven't slept.
It's those pills of yours.
I need sleep...
to just pass out for a moment.
I haven't slept in so long...
I'm off!
Have a good day!
We'll be creating data ourselves.
Creating data means
creating one's own minimal system for personal consumption.
Look at cell phones.
By allowing for self created original functions,
we're opening the road.
The goal is to make them cheaper and simpler...
Sorry! I didn't offer you...
Have you been drinking all day?
Is that a problem?
What do you do exactly?
Sales.
In what area?
Love in the afternoon.
Sorry.
Do you mean...
you make a living by fucking?
You?
People really live like that?
Yes.
Wow!
Are you making fun of me?
Sorry!
My ignorance is showing. I was just surprised.
You're really just trying to act like you don't want it.
Sorry.
Is that...
the impression that I give?
Do I look...
frustrated?
It's not about appearances.
OK.
Maybe I am.
Do you want me to go?
Not at all.
Don't go.
Alright.
I'll buy you.
How much?
50,000.
Fine.
I only ask one thing.
What?
Even if you have to lie,
say something that sounds true.
When you get what you want,
it disappears.
It becomes...
a delusion.
Come here.
I'm no delusion.
You come to me.
My daughter might come back.
I've been thinking about going home.
Where to?
My abandoned childhood home.
And your parents?
They're dead.
I killed my father.
Really?
What happened?
Family just fell apart.
Are you lonely?
I am. Now and then.
What do you do when you're lonely?
Tobacco...
sake...
drugs...
All of it.
Things to put into the body. Sweets.
Am I one, too?
What? Something to put in my body?
I guess you are.
Also a delusion.
Have you ever wanted to die?
No, never.
That was a lie. About killing your father.
Listen...
Mr Nagai sent me.
I thought so.
I'm going.
Can I hire you, too?
Would you like to kill my husband?
Mr Nagai spends his time watching videos of you and the kid.
So what?
It takes brains to use computers and cell phones.
But the government is trying to turn everyone into idiots.
Foreign capital helps.
Japan becomes their prey.
Manufacturers produce mass merchandise that any idiot can use.
Do you know why?
To keep people stupid
and keep them under control at a cheap price.
Central computer and terminal. Like owner and renter.
Control and upkeep of the brain.
But the net is a whole universe.
It's not small enough for them to control.
No matter what they do, a good hacker can't be stopped.
There's no end to the chase.
What's wrong with you?
You, yourself, have called for "simpler and cheaper."
I have to live by the rules that my stockholders set.
Like them, I've learned...
to worship money.
If things get too tough, I'll just live abroad.
No one would guess you were such a cynic.
Computers were invented by hippies. Cynics, like me.
They sold their inventions at unimaginable prices.
They took the money and ran off to lead idyllic lives.
Isn't that your ideal, too?
This is Nagai.
Ideals?
Don't have them anymore.
Keechie,
did you call your mother?
Not yet.
You promised to call...
Family's important, even for guys like us.
Right?
I don't have a house for a family.
Neither do I.
You don't need a house.
All it takes is someone you consider to be family.
No need for a place to go home to?
Wherever I am, that's my home.
A family isn't a place. A family is people.
You got money?
Can you wait a bit?
Keechie, what do I always say about keeping commitments?
I know.
You know nothing. You're too soft.
I'll pay you soon.
Hand over what you got.
Why don't you come with me to Amsterdam? You'd like it there.
Amsterdam? Yeah, sure.
So let's go together.
It takes money.
You just have to want it enough. Money's not the problem.
I'll buy you a real leather jacket.
Amsterdam is cold in winter.
Boss, I don't want to be your boy.
Don't think you can get away from me.
Don't talk like my father.
Aren't I like a father to you?
Then I'll have to kill you.
Try it.
Forget it.
It's not worth it.
Intriguing guy.
Don't stop!
But so twisted.
You, Akira, what do you want from Mr Nagai?
What do I want?
That's not an easy question.
Watch what I do...
I'll show you how to peel an apple.
You, Kaai...
You give Akira a piece of apple.
And I give Mr Nagai, in turn,
a piece of apple.
So I guess what I want from him,
is that he buy apples for all three of us.
That sounds complicated.
You could do that yourself.
You don't need Mr Nagai or me.
You don't get it, my little Kaai.
It's a sort of contract.
To keep a family together,
everyone has a role.
It's not to be taken for granted.
Things have to be thought out.
Things have to be constantly reconfirmed.
What's "taken for granted"?
Doing things without special thought. Just out of habit.
I don't really get it...
It sounds so weirdly complicated!
But it still has to be done.
That's what a family does.
Your ideal family, Akira.
My ideal? Don't complicate things.
You're way off track.
It's only the required minimum.
Required minimum?
Yes.
Come on, Kaai. Let's take a taxi!
No. Not if Mr Nagai is paying.
But he pays for everything anyway.
We've got to depend on him less.
Where's your pride, Akira?
My pride?
I lost it a long time ago.
Akira, you're a loser.
What if I got a job?
In the country? What would you do?
Would you work in the fields? Could you?
It might not show, but I grew up on a farm.
I took care of chickens.
Chickens? I hate them!
Chickens stink.
Stop it! I hate them!
But we can eat them.
And who'll kill them? Have you ever killed one?
No, but we'll find a way.
Promise me you won't raise them.
But chickens are nice.
Then I'm not going.
You'll see. Chickens are nice.
Kaai, what are you doing?
Come on. The station's this way.
Working on your day off?
It's Saturday.
Are you drunk?
How was Haidegawa?
Like you said... Depends on Sakaki.
You see?
I told you.
Is it true Akira's gone away?
Who said that?
Never mind who.
What are you going to do?
That...
What do you have to tell me?
Me, too...
I'm leaving.
Stop playing around. This company is ours.
It's not mine. It's yours.
We've worked together since college.
But the time has come...
What do you plan to do?
Start my own company.
Haidegawa made me an offer.
I'll stay until the new software is done.
Sakaki will come with me. I asked him.
And what about me?
You'll replace us.
But the three of us put this whole thing together!
When we were in college,
the others were hanging out in arcades.
But you studied like mad to start your own company.
You seemed weird,
but Sakaki and I, we believed in you.
When you married Akira, then left for Berkeley...
I really didn't understand.
But Sakaki said to trust you, so we waited.
You did come back and looked up both of us.
I'm grateful to you for that.
But...
the time has come.
I can't keep up with you anymore.
You've changed!
Oh, yeah? So I've changed.
Don't you think so?
I don't know.
Maybe...
You see!
You never doubted yourself before! You were overflowing with confidence.
You never showed any sign of weakness.
Self confidence?
I have never had any confidence.
It's something else...
When you look at the moon, it looks so beautiful.
I was burning with desire to go up there and see.
But when I got there... I saw there was nothing.
Nothing but a big desert.
Don't...
Come on...
let's start from scratch, the three of us together.
It's too late. We can't go back.
I guess...
you're right.
You knew from the start.
When you came back from the States,
you said it all when you hired us.
It's useless to try and start over.
Let's start from scratch.
You showed us your briefcase.
Did I?
I guess I did.
We're too rebellious.
Taking care of special applications and the network.
Servicing is not our forte.
We do "P 2 P".
Everything will happen as you planned.
We'll probably be attacked like Napster.
Intellectual property will plummet.
It's the revolution.
That's great!
An attack will attract attention. Stock prices will climb.
That's all great. So stay!
No way. You can't follow us anymore.
It's not what we want.
It was a mistake to quote the company.
You shouldn't have believed Haidegawa. You should have listened to Sakaki.
I believed in you!
I believed in you.
Did you read today's papers?
Haidegawa said quoting isn't the future.
He's right. Working for profit is enough.
That's it. It's real simple.
But you've lost faith.
Do you know why?
You don't dirty your hands anymore!
Only those that do can have faith. Like Sakaki and me!
You're speaking like a craftsman.
Craftsmanship is outdated.
You don't have a clue. Don't dare criticize craftsmen!
Craftsmen are very resourceful!
I'm going back to work.
I've got to finish this week. Got a deadline.
Something else...
I never told you.
What?
I was in love with Akira.
I've always known that.
Haidegawa won't sell his Soft Real stocks.
Instead, we have to leave.
He'll finance our new company. Those are his conditions.
Alright.
Should I thank you?
At Monday's meeting, you should sell 300,000 shares...
at the rate of 2000 to Haidegawa.
I'm really going to be stripped.
You don't have much choice.
Stocks are falling fast.
Done in by a lousy management analyst!
He didn't do you in.
You went too far.
Alright.
At 11:00, OK?
I'll finish my last job here.
We're counting on you Monday.
This is Nagai.
Thanks for all your kindness, Mr Haidegawa.
Our case is moving along fine.
Ichiyama said so?
They're still working on it.
With next year's planned turnaround, we're preparing for an auction in Seoul.
I'm sorry. Ichiyama doesn't know yet.
I'll send you the paperwork.
I'll take care of the 300,000 shares.
Rotten traitor!
Bye. Thanks.
We're finally here.
This place must have a lot of mosquitoes.
They won't eat you. Let's go.
It worked! How did you do that?
It's just like at home.
Hello!
The neighbor took care of everything!
Kaai!
Let's air it out. Open the windows.
So? Isn't it nice here?
What are you talking about?
This. The garden.
Isn't it beautiful?
That's true.
This is where the chickens were.
Real chickens running around free. Your grandmother fed them.
Stop it!
Weren't we happy then?
Who are you talking to?
They're beautiful!
You see...
We were very isolated.
I had no friends.
Each time she went into town, my mother bought me one.
They were substitute friends.
Poor Akira, what a pathetic childhood!
Not at all!
I had these little friends.
Rotten bastard!
Stop it!
Hand me the keys.
You're too drunk to drive!
Government toad!
You're making a scene!
Passenger's seat! I'm driving.
I'm on to you. You'll throw me in Tokyo Bay.
You're a contract killer hired by the stockholders!
That's right!
He wants to kill me! Help!
Cut it out!
You're hurting me!
Hi!
How's it going?
You've been drinking.
I haven't stopped since last night.
Did you find out anything?
Not really.
Did you meet my wife?
Yeah.
Did you fuck her?
Yeah.
So?
500,000.
How was it?
What?
She liked it.
Fine.
Why do you want to know?
Are you that twisted?
Do you want me to fuck you, too?
I can stick it in your ass...
what I gave to your wife.
A bonus for the 10 times the usual price you're paying me.
No. Thanks.
So what's up?
Will I be evidence in a divorce case?
It's not your business.
I can't anyway.
This money takes me to Holland.
To Amsterdam.
Sorry I can't be your evidence.
I have no intention of going that far.
Can I ask you something?
What?
Do you think family is more important than money?
She said that? Who?
Your wife? No, she didn't.
It's written all over your face.
Family is important.
Nothing else matters.
Oh, really? Who are you kidding?
You wouldn't understand.
And you do?
Your own wife and kid left you.
You've never cried for your family...
Never laughed with them either.
Just like my father.
You only think about money.
You have no idea how I feel.
Without money, what's left for me?
Money is just a substitute for me.
You mentioned your father.
What did you mean?
My father?
I wanted to kill him...
But I couldn't.
I don't get it.
You wouldn't understand.
You're too much like him.
You must be very lonely.
Look who's talking!
Is that where you live?
Just another house.
What are you doing?
Let me go!
Where are we?
Quiet down!
I'm going to kill you.
What are you doing? Stop it!
What's going on, Tsuyoshi?
You want to kill your father?
I'm going to kill you.
You dog!
Take a good look, Mr Nagai.
Don't be an idiot! Watch.
Go on, wimp...
shoot me!
What the hell did you do?
You really fired!
Not yet.
If you want to shoot me, just do it!
You're crazy! Stop!
What have you done?
I knew you wouldn't understand.
How could I understand?
Why?
Why did you kill your father?
You said...
"When we get what we want,"
"it disappears."
But, I know,
the world is full of things we can't control.
You live your life trying to suppress them!
What does that have to do with killing fathers?
I'm no crooked politician! Enough of your simplistic thinking!
Thanks so much.
Are you really going to raise them?
Of course. I had them before. Are they all there?
15 in all.
Kaai! Get up, Kaai!
You did it! You really did it!
Come see, they won't bite! I'm afraid!
A boy will bring a big cage later.
Just put it over there.
He'll also bring some feed.
Just give them water for now.
Put it in a flat pan.
OK. Thanks a lot, uncle.
I'm not old enough to be your uncle.
Sorry, big brother!
My pleasure.
Kaai, bring me a pan.
Here's the water. Thanks!
Akira!
Mommy!
Mommy! Wake up!
Kaai...
Don't go.
Stay with me.
We'll live here together.
I promise. OK... We'll live here together.
Don't leave me alone.
I'll take good care of you.
Don't worry.
I'll stay with you.
Are you ready to go?
I'm not going.
Out of the question.
Family is important, right?
Such a beautiful house...
It's only a building.
To get this building, you lost what's important.
You're exactly like my father.
You won't find your family in there.
Don't go too far, asshole!
You've already gone too far!
Let's go.
Hey, what's up?
Thanks to your tricks, I'm taking a long trip.
Glad to hear it.
Where's the gun?
Pointed at someone.
You found your father?
In a way.
Boss!
Gotta go.
One more thing...
That gun is cursed. Everyone who holds it...
ends up dead.
I wanted to die, but now it's yours.
Me...
I won't die.
You think that will stop the world?
Absolutely.
It's there.
Really?
So, let's go.
I'm not going.
Why not?
After coming all this way!
I only showed you the way.
I've got to go back to work.
I've got a lot of responsibility.
I don't have time to stay here.
Listen to you!
That's bullshit!
Get out!
Who's in charge here?
Kill me, if you have to.
Don't push me.
Then there's nothing left to say. Get out.
You're the one getting out.
Get out!
I thought it over.
You're holding a grudge against your father.
You want to kill him.
And I'm supposed to be the substitute?
Killing me won't solve anything.
Sorry, I can't replace your father.
Just like that guy Tsuyoshi isn't you.
And Tsuyoshi's father wasn't yours.
No one can replace anybody.
But you destroyed my home.
You enjoyed it.
You're right.
You, all screwed up because you can't kill your father.
You're afraid of being a coward... What do you know?
You're trying to run away. But it's impossible.
You are what you are. Just face it.
You don't know shit about me!
Hey.
This face... Do you remember?
Are you alone?
Do you have anything to eat?
I'm really hungry.
Come in.
Where's the kid?
Asleep upstairs.
This is a great house.
There's only ham and tomatoes.
That'll be fine.
Can't we live together here?
Kaai told me...
she wants to live here with me.
I could...
live nearby and visit like a big brother.
And you'd be my lover?
The neighbors wouldn't approve.
Like we care.
We're not in Tokyo.
She kept this...
The first time...
I brought my husband here,
he took a photo.
Not of me...
A photo of the house.
He said he wanted to live here when he was old.
But he always says...
a house is only a building.
That's true.
How long has he thought that way?
He's convinced that his family is destroyed.
But bad things...
never happen all at once.
All around us,
they're silently waiting.
Are dreams only dreams?
I made a promise to Kaai...
that we'd live here together.
I won't be in the way.
It just won't work.
I promised it would be me and her.
That's not the way.
It doesn't matter.
I have to keep my promise.
What are you doing here? You didn't want to come.
Shut up!
You're bleeding.
You lost this.
I threw it away.
You shouldn't.
You kept it all this time.
You never knew, did you?
I was blind.
But I showed it to you once.
I forgot.
Always the same story...
like you're on the moon.
I feel like I can't remember anything.
Our life in Tokyo?
Did you forget all that?
In fact...
Maybe I was just there in body.
I remember nothing.
No doubt about it...
I was probably on the moon.
Since Kaai and I left,
have you come back to earth?
Maybe...
but I'm not sure.
We can never be sure.
I'm sorry.
Don't be.
I'm not asking you to admit your faults.
No one has the right to accuse you of anything.
"Let he who is free of sin throw the first stone."
We're all so impatient.
We stand face to face and throw stones...
Throw them until one of us is dead.
Then everybody's happy.
And no more stones are thrown.
That's it.
Thanks.
I'm going...
to live here with Kaai.
Really?
I think it's for the best.
One thing...
I hope you know...
Everybody is crazy about you.
For me, you're all that matters.
Good morning, Kaai.
Morning!
Akira, what is he doing here?
We're supposed to live here together alone.
I decided to not be afraid.
I got used to the idea of not having any friends.
You said we two were enough.
And now you're with Mr Nagai!
Selfish!
That's not true, Kaai!
We will stay together. Just us two.
It's true, Kaai.
You'll live here with Akira.
I have to stay in Tokyo.
Forget it. I don't need you two!
Kaai!
Are you OK? Fine. Go get Kaai!
Let me go!
Come here.
Weren't you supposed to go back to Tokyo?
I am going.
Are you really going?
I have a meeting at 11.
It's still my job. My responsibility.
My friends are waiting.
I can't betray them.
Could you still leave now?
Listen...
hasn't this gone far enough?
I'll kill all of you.
You can't do it. Yes, I will!
Those with no respect for family...
I'll kill them all.
Watch out...
the chicken man will be coming.
You'll all be dead by then.
Listen, Keechie...
we're not your family.
If you kill us, you'll be just another murderer.
Would your family really want a murderer for a son?
What else can I do?
How can I make you stay a family?
There must be some way?
Go ahead, do it.
It's like you said...
There's no other way.
No! I'm afraid!
Alright, Keechie.
Kill me.
It's your father you want to kill.
Your father is already gone.
But you can kill me in his place.
How's that? Will that do it?
You still don't get it.
Do it, I said. It's for the best.
Just take care of Kaai and Akira.
So you can be the big hero?
Exactly!
I'm a father and a husband.
I'm responsible for the protection of my family.
Then why did you neglect them?
That was just my way.
But so is this.
I'm willing to die for my family.
Then die!
No! Stop it!
Don't miss!
No...
Mr Nagai...
won't you live here with us?
You could start over from scratch.
Shoot me!
What's the matter?
We could be a real family!
What are you waiting for? Shoot! Kill me!
Why are you giving up? Come on!
Mr Nagai...
what do you really want?
I don't know.
Go buy us some apples.
Dad should just stay with us!
Nagai: MIKAMI Hiroshi
Akira: TOYOTA Maho
Keechie: KASHIWABARA Shuji
Tsuyoshi's father: NATSUYAGI Isao
Keechie's client: AKIYOSHI Kumiko
Keechie's boss: HAGIWARA Kenichi
Producer: SENTO Takenori
Production Supervisor: SATO Kumi
Cinematography: TAMURA Masaki
Lighting: SATO Yuzuru
Sound: KIKUCHI Nobuyuki
Production Designer: SHIMIZU Takeshi
Production: Suncent CinemaWorks
Writer, Director, Editor: AOYAMA Shinji