Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Himizu (2011)

Himizu (2011)
Himizu • ヒミズ (2011)
Best New Film
Genre: Drama
Director: Sion Sono
Starring: Shôta Sometani, Fumi Nikaidô
Language: Japanese
Duration: 129 min.
Rating: 8.6
Summary:
The tale of two teenagers living a dystopian existence in post-tsunami Japan.
Himizu is a film directed by Sion Sono, adapted from the manga written by Minoru Furuya. The name comes from a species of mole native to Japan. It premiered at the 2011 Venice International Film Festival, where the two lead actors, Shôta Sometani and Fumi Nikaidô, won the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor and Actress.

You never know what to expect from Sono, only that it will be unexpected, and Himizu is no exception. Set amidst the aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the film follows a pair of junior high school students as they try to navigate through life in a changed world with an uncertain future.

Himizu (2011)

Originally intended as a straight adaptation of the source manga. Sono rewrote the script after the disaster, to not only incorporate scenes of the destruction, but also anchor the films central themes. Maybe a tad opportunistic, but timing is everything in life. Much like Spike Lee's underrated post 9/11 film, 25th Hour, where the story takes place against the backdrop of a catastrophic event, the result here is just as emotionally powerful.

The story is centered on fourteen-year-old Sumida (Sometani), a boy who lives in a meager shack beside a lake with his promiscuous and alcoholic mother. He dreams of a simple and quiet life, just looking after the family boat-rental shop, but the world around him seems hell bent on preventing him from achieving that lowly goal. His absent father is a dead-beat who owes the yakuza large sums of cash, and only comes home either to steal money or to beat and berate him. At school, he is hounded by Keiko (Nikaidô), a girl creepily obsessed with him. She's a self admitted stalker who has memorized every detail about his life and plasters her bedroom walls with his quotes written on colored paper.

Himizu (2011)

Some films are meant to be seen on a large screen with a powerful sound system, and this is one of them. Sono takes everything and amplifies them to maximum levels. The opening scene pummels us with the imagery of Keiko standing in the rain reciting translated French poetry to a soundtrack of Mozart's Requiem played at high volume. All the while, the camera pans across the vast swath of wreckage left behind by the tsunami. It's an astonishing and jarring introduction and it never really lets up from there.

Not everyone will appreciate Sono's loud and unrelentingly brash approach, but for me, his willingness to subvert rules and expectations and not care if anyone gets offended along the way, is his strongest attribute. It's interesting, in a lot of ways this film is the antithesis to Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom. Both directors like to frequently use the same stock actors, and both films deal with a young romance played by newcomers in a stylized hyper-realistic manner. However, the means in which they are presented could not be any more opposite.

Himizu (2011)

This gorgeously filmed pitch black fairy tale is blanketed with an over the top onslaught of vicious rage and unchecked violence. Not nearly as gory as we've seen from Sono in the past, but even more affecting because of who the abuse is directed towards, and how it's delivered. Yes it's presented with ridiculous, bordering on cartoon levels of intensity, but every slap, kick, punch, and stab still resonates with a brutal fury and terrifying malice that will leave even the most hardened viewer stunned.

There's also an inventive mix of detailed sets and absurd locations filled with fascinating side characters. Sumida's tin-shack home where much of the film takes place is anything but a picturesque lakeside residence. It's flanked by views of a handful of tarp covered tents that house an oddball set of stranded survivors, and a tilted half-sunken shed sits alone in the middle of the water, perhaps representing a symbol for Japan itself. One darkly comedic scene features a surgical mask wearing thief breaking into a neo-nazi drug dealer's rancid apartment. Welcome appearances are also made by Sono regulars Megumi Kagurazaka, Denden, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, and Asuka Kurosawa.

Himizu (2011)

The two young lead actors give remarkable performances, and there's no way the film would have worked so well without them. Shôta Sometani handles his character's complex arc with a searing never give up intensity that in most other cases would be laughably excessive, but in this case he is merely matching the levels required to keep up with the film's tone. Though he did seem look a bit too old to be fourteen. While Fumi Nikaidô impressed me greatly by effortlessly evolving a one-track annoying giddy school-girl with an unhealthy crush, into a multifaceted character at the emotional core of the film. 

Despite the grim and heavy tone of despair and ill-focused aggression on display throughout most of Himizu, Sono also manages to imbue a message of hope and inspiration into it. It's a daring work of pure brilliance that's utterly disturbing yet profoundly uplifting at the same time. It's anything but straight forward or coherent, and it doesn't matter. Some films are meant to be felt, not followed. I'm not quite sure if this is a masterpiece; time will tell. But I'm convinced that it's one of the best films of the year.
Bonjour Tristesse
Himizu (2011)

Himizu (2011)

Himizu (2011)

Himizu (2011)

Himizu (2011)

Himizu (2011)

Himizu (2011)

13 comments:

Michaël Parent said...

Well, now I have to get some Sono's for real! Excellent review! It's clear that you enjoy his films very much.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Thanks Michaël. He is a crazed genius. For sure, not a director for everyone, but one without compromise.

d_4 said...

Could never have guessed such a positive review. I'm looking forward to it. Would be pretty nice for it to display on the big screen over here..

filmnohito said...

Looks like you finally caught up with the Sono train. As much as I love his crime/horror films (Cold Fish, Exte, Suicide Circle), it's these dramas where he proves that he is one of the best film-makers on this planet. Himizu is so powerful and says so much. There was not a moment when I wasn't gripped and the performances were super-compelling. I followed this from its announcement last year all the way to its UK screening. I'm happy to say I saw this in a cinema where the experience transported me to another world.


You scored it too low, Bonjour!

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Me either. It turned out nothing like how I expected it would. Pleasantly. How often do foreign films get theatrical releases in PR, I'm guessing not very?

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Yeah finally! What an amazing work, and to do it in such a short time frame blows my mind. BTW, that's the highest score I've given any new release this year. Maybe it's too low, we'll see down the road when I watch it again, and I will watch it again.

d_4 said...

There are only two movie theaters that I know of that display foreign films here. They're owned by the same company and they also dedicate to finer films with Hollywood stars, like Moonrise Kingdom, so it usually takes a while for what I'm waiting for to get here.

Dr Blood said...

Is this on DVD yet? Thanks to your rating, I want to see this now.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

There's a Japanese DVD out, and a UK one coming in August.

CastorTroy said...

Oh! I really want to check this out. I love Japanese mangas and I'm definitely intrigued by the premise of this movie. I will keep an eye out for this.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

You should definitely check it out then. It will likely end up high on my year end list. Thanks for stopping by CT.

night.admirer said...

Fantastic movie! I was so excited when it come to torrent once... I love it and every other movie of sion sono! He is a genius .. Guilty of romance, cold fish, into a dream, love exposure.. not for everyone.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Great to see another Sono fan. He truly is a brilliant director.

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