The Route 20 National Road (2007): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 2007, The Route 20 National Road is a drama film directed by Katsuya Tomita, running about 77 minutes.

What it’s about. Hisashi was once a member of a motorcycle gang. Now he plays pachinko everyday with his live-in girlfriend, Junko. He has a habit of "huffing" paint thinner. His debts accumulate every day. Hisashi's old friend from the gang, Ozawa is a loan shark. He persuades Hisashi to join his easy-money-making scheme, "Quit inhaling paint thinner and score big with me!" Hisashi's dead-end life is made up of the same things that symbolize contemporary rural Japan: Karaoke clubs, pachinko parlors, ATM loan machines and discount outlets along a highway. In this ordinary place that is just like hundreds of other small towns in Japan, Hisashi sees the darkness. Darkness that is out of the reach of neon lights along the highway. In the vacuum of this darkness, life repeats itself endlessly. Hisashi has a flashback of a paint-thinner trip he once had. The hallucination tempts him to the other side. Tantalized, he asks himself, "Can I really go?

Who’s in it. The Route 20 National Road stars Eriko Hirasawa, Hitoshi Ito, Ayako Kimura and Shinji Murata, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 5.0/10, The Route 20 National Road has proved divisive with audiences.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch The Route 20 National Road page.

If you liked it. Fans of The Route 20 National Road tend to enjoy The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather, Schindler's List and The Godfather Part II.