So many times, as a westerner, viewing Japanese films, the cry of 'Only in Japan' comes to mind. This is in part because that country remains amazingly insular and proud of its culture and unchanging ways despite the presence of the Americans and all the world's external influence upon it. Here in this passionate offering from Sion Sono are all the usual tropes, mistreated and misunderstood youth, dispassionate parents, loan sharks and the yakuza, life, death and honour plus an almost whimsical belief in 'tomorrow' are all on display. Shortly after the film was conceived came the Fukushima disaster with its earthquake and tsunami crippling the nuclear plant and the director amended his script to include this further element of doom and disaster. It is well done, if a little overlong, with the actors partly improvising but it is disconcertingly 'in your face' and if the suicidal intentions seem a little drastic, the dreams of a sunny tomorrow also seem rather optimistic. The final plea to youngsters to be more positive and ride out all the pessimism seems a little naive seen from afar but may well resonate within that beautiful but mixed up country. It certainly surprised me that Sono would end the film in such an evangelical way but then I may have missed some of the film's finer points and cannot fully appreciate what it must be like to live under the perpetual threat of annihilation, never mind the constant reminders like that of Fukushima.
