In a near-future Japan, the economic burden of an ageing population has become untenable. In response, the government has introduced Plan 75, a system of voluntary euthanasia offering a painless death to those over the age of 75 in exchange for a modest “preparatory grant” of $1,000.

Chie Hayakawa’s thoughtful, slow-burning philosophical study focuses on former cleaner Michi (Chieko Baishô), 78, who is forced by poverty to consider Plan 75, and lonely widower Yukio (Taka Takao), who reconnects with his nephew, a Plan 75 salesman, by chance. This is subdued storytelling that, while it drags a little in its pacing, asks tough questions about society’s relationship with elderly people.

• In cinemas and on Curzon Home Cinema