Jun Takahashi refuses to see ageing as a slow retreat. While his peers only seem to talk about ‘grandkids and sickness’, he’s more interested in what makes life exciting now. For Takahashi, this includes getting new tattoos, performing on stage and, as No One Ever Really Dies documents, planning a living funeral ceremony. The US-based directors Anika Kan Grevstad and Mari Young follow Takahashi as he orchestrates his faux send-off with theatrical flair, though not everyone shares his enthusiasm. His wife and daughter find the spectacle over the top and even a bit cruel, although they suspect it’s his own unique way of confronting the inevitability of death.
This tension between provocation and vulnerability, paired with some clever editing from the directing team, drives the film. Does Takahashi simply thrive on shock value or is there true catharsis at hand? By embracing both the absurd and the profound, the film becomes less about death and more about what it means to keep living – fully, unapologetically and on one’s own terms.
