Directed by: Hirokazu Kore-da
Written by: Yuki Sakamoto
Distributed by: Gaga, Toho
SUMMARY
A Rashomon type of story told in three perspectives: A beleaguered single mother, trying to figure out why her son is being hurt by a teacher in school; An awkward teacher, struggling to navigate misunderstandings in which he somehow ends up the villain; and a young fifth grader falling in love with a boy, standing up to bullying.
RATING
A+
What an amazing feat here: To tell a quiet drama with the intensity of a thriller. Each story is told movingly, and what I find innovative here is that unlike Rashomon, all the stories don't contradict, but rather complete each other. At each point in the story we are wondering who the "monster" is, and I remember thinking that the monster was the seemingly cold principal, the awkward teacher, and even the two children Minato and Yori. I kept thinking they were psychopaths, but that's the point isn't it? That when we don't understand the full picture, we think other humans are monsters. A gay boyhood love story is embedded at the heart here, and ultimately, it ends heartbreakingly.
SUMMARY
A Rashomon type of story told in three perspectives: A beleaguered single mother, trying to figure out why her son is being hurt by a teacher in school; An awkward teacher, struggling to navigate misunderstandings in which he somehow ends up the villain; and a young fifth grader falling in love with a boy, standing up to bullying.
RATING
A+
What an amazing feat here: To tell a quiet drama with the intensity of a thriller. Each story is told movingly, and what I find innovative here is that unlike Rashomon, all the stories don't contradict, but rather complete each other. At each point in the story we are wondering who the "monster" is, and I remember thinking that the monster was the seemingly cold principal, the awkward teacher, and even the two children Minato and Yori. I kept thinking they were psychopaths, but that's the point isn't it? That when we don't understand the full picture, we think other humans are monsters. A gay boyhood love story is embedded at the heart here, and ultimately, it ends heartbreakingly.