AllMovie

In the wake of Western pharmaceutical advertising - which includes the slogan "Does Your Soul Have a Cold" - everyday Japanese people suffering from depression have only recently become acquainted with the concept of depression as a mental illness. Now, as the Japanese begin to ponder the prospect that depression is a malady that may be treatable by taking anti-depressants, Thumbsucker director Mike Mills travels to Japan in order to document just how varying cultural views on mental illness can span such a wide spectrum. As sales of antidepressants in Japan continue their steady climb, the emerging socio-cultural issues of the island country come into focus as five depressed Japanese individuals discuss their personal histories, their hopes, their fears, and their reasons for choosing to treat their depression pharmaceutically.