A Promise

In a wholly serious, somber argument for euthanasia, director Yoshishige Yoshida focuses on a family with an aged and severely ailing grandmother. When police arrive at the family's home to investigate the elderly woman's death, her husband comes forward and says he murdered her. Flashbacks tell the story of how the woman's mind was completely gone, her body barely functioned at all, and she was in a great deal of misery. Also, her family was burdened with her care and were severely depressed by her declining situation. Since grandmother herself did not want to live any longer, the question for the police is whether a crime should be acknowledged or not.~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide