I watched "Himizu" blinded by opinions, not knowing about the manga and with just a little information about the story. I believe cinema is a world
language that doesn't known barriers and some films are universal stories we can all easily relay on. The little I read about it was convincing enough to make
me watch this out of curiosity just to see how good it could be. It turned out this movie was a frustrating and pointless experience, and reading the positive
reviews about it didn't make it better. The experience is confusing, long and with some bits and pieces that are rewarding but not great enough to make it a
good film.
The background of it all it's interesting. After the Fukushima disaster, the conflicted teenager Sumida (Shôta Sometani) doesn't feel life is worth living or so much rewarding after the disaster, deeply thinking that what he has and the place where he lives and works it's the only possible outcome for his life, and he accepts it with pride of being mediocre. He has lots of encouraging people next to him, who think he'll have a great future outside of the house boat renting place of his mom, at the same time his parents are distant: the father only comes to bash and assault him and the mother leaves after a while.
The other distant figure is Keiko (Fumi Nikaidô), a girl who's deeply in love with him but he doesn't want anything with her, and despite pushing her to stay away she keeps coming back insisting in knowing him better. In several erratic behavior sequences, the movie keeps pushing us too hard in believing this relationship up until the moment it actually works out, but before that they push each other, they slap each other and are ruthless to one another. It's insane.
While dealing with his personal conflicts, later on Sumida discovers that his father is owing money to dangerous people, all of whom are aggressive to the boy who wishes to kill them all and that's where a rampage of murderous desire will inflict after killing his own father. Those are moments of twisted violence with Sumida getting beaten several times again and again. Not only him, but also his best friend, a much older man, gets beaten in cowardly ways.
So here's a story full of melancholy and sadness that tries to present a deep and meaningful work about loneliness and the troubles of a youth facing troubles in the aftermath of a terrible real tragedy. I've seen better than this. Here, all I could think about the characters way of expressing themselves and acting with others was that they were all crazy in the head and that maybe the Fukushima radiation had affected more than the tsunami that left visible scars and desolation.
Nothing was credible and dreams and fantasies all get confused when mixed with reality. I felt lost whenever Sumida had his visions of violence, not knowing exactly if he was dreaming or was it real (it takes some time to actually find out what's real or not).
The parts involving Sumida's friend dealing with the mobsters was interesting; and the heavy use of classical music in the score was amazing even though the images weren't so fulfilling, almost pretentious. I won't say the film was badly acted, the youngsters have the best and the wildest parts but it's a waste they're not in a better project. They're wild and free to make anything here but most of their acts are pointless (except for the "sorrow stones" which Keiko holds her everytime she's mad with Sumida and she keeps on promising when her pockets get filled she'll throw at him - and she does.
I was expecting for more relatable characters who care for each other despite the world they live in being doomed and chaotic. Instead, I was rewarded with a girl forcing herself to love and help a troubled and careless boy who doesn't know where is going with his life - and when he reached some enlightnement I wasn't convinced that everything worked so simple for both of them, and that love was the ultimate force that drove them back to sanity (maybe we accept that kind of thing in melodramas or your typical Hollywood film). The drama was poor, the humored moments weren't funny and almost nothing works. It's too messy.
Thumbs down for this. 4/10.
The background of it all it's interesting. After the Fukushima disaster, the conflicted teenager Sumida (Shôta Sometani) doesn't feel life is worth living or so much rewarding after the disaster, deeply thinking that what he has and the place where he lives and works it's the only possible outcome for his life, and he accepts it with pride of being mediocre. He has lots of encouraging people next to him, who think he'll have a great future outside of the house boat renting place of his mom, at the same time his parents are distant: the father only comes to bash and assault him and the mother leaves after a while.
The other distant figure is Keiko (Fumi Nikaidô), a girl who's deeply in love with him but he doesn't want anything with her, and despite pushing her to stay away she keeps coming back insisting in knowing him better. In several erratic behavior sequences, the movie keeps pushing us too hard in believing this relationship up until the moment it actually works out, but before that they push each other, they slap each other and are ruthless to one another. It's insane.
While dealing with his personal conflicts, later on Sumida discovers that his father is owing money to dangerous people, all of whom are aggressive to the boy who wishes to kill them all and that's where a rampage of murderous desire will inflict after killing his own father. Those are moments of twisted violence with Sumida getting beaten several times again and again. Not only him, but also his best friend, a much older man, gets beaten in cowardly ways.
So here's a story full of melancholy and sadness that tries to present a deep and meaningful work about loneliness and the troubles of a youth facing troubles in the aftermath of a terrible real tragedy. I've seen better than this. Here, all I could think about the characters way of expressing themselves and acting with others was that they were all crazy in the head and that maybe the Fukushima radiation had affected more than the tsunami that left visible scars and desolation.
Nothing was credible and dreams and fantasies all get confused when mixed with reality. I felt lost whenever Sumida had his visions of violence, not knowing exactly if he was dreaming or was it real (it takes some time to actually find out what's real or not).
The parts involving Sumida's friend dealing with the mobsters was interesting; and the heavy use of classical music in the score was amazing even though the images weren't so fulfilling, almost pretentious. I won't say the film was badly acted, the youngsters have the best and the wildest parts but it's a waste they're not in a better project. They're wild and free to make anything here but most of their acts are pointless (except for the "sorrow stones" which Keiko holds her everytime she's mad with Sumida and she keeps on promising when her pockets get filled she'll throw at him - and she does.
I was expecting for more relatable characters who care for each other despite the world they live in being doomed and chaotic. Instead, I was rewarded with a girl forcing herself to love and help a troubled and careless boy who doesn't know where is going with his life - and when he reached some enlightnement I wasn't convinced that everything worked so simple for both of them, and that love was the ultimate force that drove them back to sanity (maybe we accept that kind of thing in melodramas or your typical Hollywood film). The drama was poor, the humored moments weren't funny and almost nothing works. It's too messy.
Thumbs down for this. 4/10.