Kumu Documentary: Johatsu ‒ In the Thin Air
Dir Andreas Hartmann, Arata Mori
Germany and Japan 2024, 86 min
In Japanese, with English subtitles
In Japan, “night moving” companies help people disappear from their current lives, leaving it all behind to start afresh in a new place.
Every year, thousands of people vanish without a trace in Japan. Known as the Johatsu, “the evaporated,” they abandon their lives for various reasons, a troublesome relationship, mounting debts or threats from the mafia. Some get support from “night moving” companies, which help people to disappear and start a new life somewhere else. Taking an intimate look into the phenomenon of “evaporating people,” Johatsu – Into Thin Air depicts the inner conflicts and attempts at reconciliation of those who have disappeared and those who have been left behind.
The movie won the award for best international film at the Munich International Documentary Film Festival.
Gallery
