One Year to Live, Buy a Man

A reverse Pretty Woman meets Bucket List in this Japanese feature romantic drama from director Hiroki Kazama. One Year To Live, Buy a Man stars Kô Shibasaki as Yui, a hyper-optimised single woman in her forties whose dedication to living frugally has seen her amass a lot of savings, which she obsessively checks every night using an app. After being diagnosed with cervical cancer and given one year to live, however, Yui starts to throw caution to the wind. 

Yui meets Sena (Eiji Akaso), a handsome, pink-haired Host, whom she helps with some hospital bills, and the two strike an accord for mutual benefit. 

The Netflix film explores a lot of hot topics, in particular issues younger people face living in the modern world. For most, gone are the days of working hard and owning property, and we see this most acutely in the character of Sena. He works as a Host in a nightclub, which is essentially paid companionship for guests; however, this income alone is not enough to lift his family from the breadline. The movie also explores the increasingly popular lifestyle of living alone, never marrying. Yui generally detests strong connections with other people and treats every interaction like a business deal. She optimises her entire life, even relationships, where she wants to avoid any unnecessary frills or commitments. 

Cancer films have a tendency to wrench the heartstrings, but with One Year to Live, Buy a Man, it’s a finely balanced affair. There are joyous moments when Yui is embarking on her bucket list of items with Sena in tow; such as staying at a swanky hotel or relentlessly pursuing a soft toy inside one of those claw machines. Food plays almost its own character in the Japanese movie too, with some incredible munch on display that is absolutely mouthwatering. These lighter moments get mixed in with the burgeoning love story clearly developing between the central characters, as well as the looming spectre of Yui’s diagnosis. 

There is a fabulously low-key atmosphere throughout One Year to Live, Buy a Man that will appeal to a Netflix audience, especially those that are fans of Japanese output. And whilst the slightly contrived plot can feel mechanical at times, the sheer display of life and introspection here is more than enough to merit a couple of hours of your time, as precious as it is.