Genkai Danchi (2018)

Description:

Ayamecho Complex is a public housing complex that was built in the suburbs of Tokyo in the 1970s. Back then, it was a lively place and a desirable address for people. But now the number of residents have declined and both the building and people have steadily aged. One day, 62-year-old Terauchi Seiji and his 6-year-old granddaughter Honoka move to Ayamecho Complex. Terauchi tells residents curious to know why he has relocated here now, that he adopted Honoka after his son and daughter-in-law died in a fire a year ago. He believes it will be good for her to live in the place where he spent a happy childhood. Terauchi’s elderly father Hitoshi also lives with him. The arrival of the family of three stirs the stagnant air of the complex. Terauchi immediately visits housewife Sakurai Eriko and her husband Takashi who live next to him, to give his greetings and enthusiastically declares, “We’re starting a new chapter of our lives in this “dream new town” from today”. He politely goes around to every unit in the complex and even proactively shows up at a gathering of the residents association where he seeks interactions within the place. However, it does not work out as intended with an unmotivated chairman, Kaneda Teppei, and residents who show no regard for rules and greetings. Terauchi gets into action in an attempt to steer Ayamecho Complex back to the good old times for the sake of his granddaughter. However, is he a savior who will save the public housing complex? Or is he a devil?