The Village follows the adventures of Yu Katayama, a young man residing in the Komon village, once known for its scenic beauty, which has now become a vast trash disposal site.
Directed by Michihito Fujii, The Village features Ryusei Yokohama, Haru Kuroki, Arata Furuta, Shidô Nakamura as central characters.
The Village Story Summary
Yu (Ryusei Yokohama) wakes up after having a nightmare about the memory of his father’s death. Yu, as a child, sits as a spectator for a Noh performance, a form of art performed by artists wearing a mask. While Yu is there, his father sets their house on fire, killing himself. Yu has now grown to become a young man and lives with his mother, Kimie (Naomi Nishida). After a restless night, he wakes up and leaves for work.
On the other hand, Misaki (Haru Kuroki), Yu’s childhood friend, comes back to the village from Tokyo after ten years. Yu works at a trash disposal side, under Toru’s (Wataru Ichinose) authority. Yu is physically abused and bullied at work by Toru’s men for fun.
Mr. Ohashi (Arata Furuta), the mayor of the village, visits the site to discuss the plans regarding the expansion of the landfill, occupying the entire mountain, if they get the subsidies for the next fiscal year.
Ryuta (Daiken Okudaira), a newcomer at the landfill, becomes friends with Yu. He asks Yu about the reasons for him to be bullied, saying that he would not be able to handle it if he was in Yu’s place. When Yu tells him that he is bound, Ryuta mentions that even he is compelled to bear with all of it until he pays back the money he owes.
The people of the village judge Yu for his father’s actions and want him to leave the village. Yu’s mother has dragged Yu into debt owing to her gambling and drinking habits. She keeps asking Yu for more of his hard-earned money and spends all of it on gambling.
Yu, along with the other workers who work under Toru, are called to the site in the middle of the night. Mr. Maruoka, who works with Toru, arrives with a truck, containing boxes that need to be dumped. These boxes contain substances with harmful chemicals which are being used by Toru for some kind of shady business.
Ryuta asks Yu whether everyone in the system, including the mayor knows about this. Just then, Toru comes and clicks a picture of the two while they dig the pit.
Misaki Joins Yu’s Workplace
Toru introduces Misaki to Yu as the public relations manager for their company. They get together for a casual talk over drinks. Mr. Ohashi, the mayor, asks Yu whether he is happy working for the plant, to which Yu says yes. Misaki observes the way Toru treats Yu. She follows Yu as he steps out for air and asks whether he is fine.
Meanwhile, Yu’s mother creates a scene at a games parlor in a drunk state. Kokichi (Shidô Nakamura), the local policeman, Yu’s friend, and Ohashi’s brother, tells him to take more care of her as she is the only family he has. Yu tells him that he does not need the advice of someone who left. He takes Yu with him for him to get a break.
The two meet Misaki on the way. Misaki and Kokichi start practicing Noh. Kokichi tells Misaki that the young people of the village have stopped performing Noh. He invites Yu and Misaki to attend the festival. Yu says no at first but gives in when Misaki requests him to come.
Kokichi goes to his home and finds Ohashi, as he feeds their mother, who is paralyzed and bedridden. Kokichi asks Ohashi if the village is doing good, to which Ohashi replies that it is getting harder to make ends meet, with each passing year. Kokichi questions whether it is necessary for them to have the old woman around. Ohashi tells him that everything that makes the world go around does not always have to be a necessity.
Yu Becomes A Tour Guide
Misaki informs Yu about the company’s decision to start a Kamon Environmental Center tour for elementary school children. She suggests that Yu should become the guide for the same. Toru expresses his disagreement, saying that Yu is unfit for the role as he is the son of a criminal. He asks Misaki if he should do the job instead. Misaki tells him that this should not be a part of his job as he is the manager. Besides, the children would get scared by his tough looks.
Misaki takes Yu to her house. Her brother, Keiichi (Ryûto Sakuma) looks up to Yu as a role model. As Yu looks at a picture from her childhood in Misaki’s room, Misaki mentions how it is a shame that everything has changed so much. She says that things were good back when the village was just beautiful nature and delicious vegetables, as they played, and practiced Noh on their day-offs.
Misaki gifts an omote, the mask used while performing Noh, as a gift to Yu. She tells him that it has the power to soothe the soul and asks him to wear it when he feels like he is about to lose it. Misaki is ultimately able to convince Yu for doing the job of the tour guide.
Yu becomes a new person as he begins with his new job. Toru gets envious of Yu as Misaki and Yu get closer. After the kids leave the plant, Misaki tells Yu about all the positive remarks left by the kids, for Yu. The tour becomes very popular with reservations for until the next month. It is decided that the tour would be broadcasted on national television the next weekend. Yu is asked to represent the center on the show.
The Village Ending Explained
With the slot for the broadcast getting finalized, Ohashi tells Yu that he no longer needs to work night shifts at the plant. He tells Yu that he would communicate it to you as he does not want them to find out and get the center in trouble. Ohashi tells Yu that this is his chance to get back at everyone who ever questioned him. Yu expresses his gratitude to Ohashi.
What Happens With Toru?
The television broadcast becomes a huge hit. Toru does not feel good as Yu starts getting praised by everyone, especially Yu. In order to get revenge, he visits Misaki’s home at night, while Yu is caught up at work. He calls Misaki when he gets free. Toru receives his call on Misaki’s phone and tells Yu that they are busy.
Then, Toru shows a video of Yu to Misaki, which he took while they were working on-site for Toru’s illegal business. He tries to convince Misaki that Yu is a bad person. Misaki has her doubts about Toru being the reason for Yu doing that. However, Toru tries to act innocent, saying that Yu did it of his own free will.
Toru attempts to rape Misaki while recording a video of the same. Yu reaches Misaki’s home and gets in a fight with Toru as he tries to stop him. Toru beats him brutally and tries to kill him. Just then, Misaki stabs Toru from behind, in his neck and kills him. To cover up the death, Misaki and Yu dump his dead body at the dumping site.
Keiichi Ends Up Causing Trouble
While working on the site one day, Keiichi discovers one of the infectious waste boxes that Toru used to make the workers dump during their night shifts. Meanwhile, Ohashi shows the report of the water quality inspection to Yu. The report indicates an excessive and unacceptable amount of four harmful substances. Ohashi tells Yu that it is due to someone burying unnecessary stuff there, and it would become a problem if this news became public. Ohashi asks Yu to handle the issue.
On the other hand, Keiichi tells Kokichi about the box he had seen at the site. The night shift workers are arrested by Kokichi, while they were working their night shift at the site. Yu gets a call about the police raid and reaches the site. When Kokichi asks Yu whether he was aware of this, Yu denies having any knowledge about it. Kokichi tells Yu that Keiichi had helped the police. Keiichi says that he would never forgive the people who did this, as it was wrongdoing.
Kokichi mentions that this case would end up the same way, as it did ten years ago. There was a movement against the establishment of the waste management facility. The people who opposed the establishment were ostracized and bullied. One of the members of this group of opposition killed an official to get revenge, and ultimately killed himself too by setting fire to his own house. The case was closed immediately and Kokichi could not do anything. Meanwhile, Toru’s body is discovered at the site during the investigation. However, it becomes difficult to identify as the body has been decomposed partially.
On the other hand, Keiichi tells Yu that he knows that Yu saved his sister. Yu takes Keiichi with him and asks for a press conference to be arranged as he arrives in thirty minutes. Yu tells Keiichi to tell the press that he saw Toru being carried away by scary men as he was doing bad things. Keiichi denies lying as he did not see anything like that. When forced by Yu, Keiichi attempts to jump off from the car, resulting in an accident. As a result, Keiichi loses consciousness.
Yu Takes The Final Step
Misaki tells Yu about how Keiichi considers him to be his role model. She tells him that he should continue to be the hero for people. Yu says that it is Misaki, who is actually his hero. Yu says that Misaki is the reason that makes him feel that it is okay to live. This conversation with Misaki makes some light of knowledge dawn upon Yu, as he goes to Ohashi’s house.
Toru’s phone is discovered by the police. Kokichi finds the video of Misaki, along with the pictures of Yu and the other night shift workers doing the illegal dumping. When Ohashi finds out about this, he informs Yu about the same. He asks Yu whether he and Misaki killed Toru, to which Yu agrees. Ohashi tells Yu that it won’t be an issue as it is good that he got rid of Toru.
Yu asks Ohashi about the time his father was involved in a case. Ohashi tells Yu that he does not really remember the case. However, he is grateful to his father. He mentions that sacrifices are necessary to protect the village. He tells Yu that he would be saved if they put all the blame on Misaki alone, as he will manage the rest.
Ohashi offers Yu that they could rebuild the village together. Yu refuses his offer and chokes Mr. Ohashi to death. Furthermore, Yu sets Ohashi’s house on fire, killing Ohashi and his mother.
The Village is available for streaming on Netflix.
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