Blue Spring

'Aoi Haru' is a very bleak movie that derives its beauty precisely from the haunting sense of nihilism. The almost ruined school with its dingy rooms and dense graffiti is not just the set to the action, it seems to represent the characters' lack of prospects. A movie that makes something of a pun on the word 'adolescence' (together the kanji for 'ao' and 'haru' read as 'adolescence') cannot help but make considerations about the future but these are without a doubt not promising. The school-ground is a yakuza recruiting ground in the most literal of ways and the initiation into gangs is not so much a temporary revolt from troubled teens as it is a preparation for a life of crime. Dreams are hinted at only to be thoroughly dashed. Violence runs rampant but is handled soberly by a camera that know just how much to show to elicit a reaction.

It is against this background that the main story unfolds: a friendship between two boys gone wrong. Matsuda (Kujo) gives a stunning performance, his cool demeanor matches sociopathic tendencies very well and make him believable as a ruthless and detached young man with little interest even in his own life. The clapping game will have anyone hold their breath and is shot in such a way as to make it even more disturbing. Arai (Hirofumi) is also very competent as the bosom body whose fall out seals his descent into darkness.

A strong soundtrack adds to the impression of things going wrong in an artistic way. Juvenile delinquents or not the human aspect of boys in a sticky situation provides reasons for the viewer to see past the almost intrinsic seediness of it all. Ryuhei cutting Araki's hair as they discuss what to do when they grow up is surprisingly moving and the climax of the movie brings it all home in a painful but excellent way. Apart from these two leads there are minor characters that are equally interesting such as the sickly boy fascinated with worms (that despite being so peaceful frightens Kujo because he has a purpose), a psychopath in the making, the boy that wants to go to Koshien. All people that are adrift without guidelines.

Grownups are not absent but they appear sparingly and only the little person teacher that teaches the boys how to water flowers is a positive influence. The focus is strongly placed on the young actors and they truly do shine.

'Aoi Haru' is realistic despite being a very artistic movie. It should be seen back to back to Miike's 'Crows Zero' that is a take of the same concept in a much more fanciful and less bleak way. But 'Aoi' is brilliant in its own right by adhering so steadily to an ethos of bleakness and loss. Growing is, without a doubt, not easy.

With a Soundtrack from 'Thee Michelle Gun Elephant' that most English Indie Producers would kill for, and amazing cast and crew. Aoi Haru draws us into the lives of Japanese teenagers who aren't so lucky in life, who have to make their own destiny from the left over scraps of others who happen to throw them their way.

Aoi Haru is based in a public all boys school called Asahi High.

A extremely miserable place where teachers don't bother to encourage the boys to excel, gang graffiti tags are everywhere marking their turf, and the yakuza's frequently hang around outside the school trying to recruit young members.

The boys learn early on that if you don't fight for what is yours and what you want, then you better keep your mouth shut and stay out of the way. And even though these boys do act tough and dish out violence like a ice cube down the back of your shirt, the boys feel lost and confused due to the fact they cannot understand why they can not make their dreams come true. Almost feeling forced into the violence and self destruction they create because it will be their only real legacy they can leave behind before they enter the real world and pretty much dead end lives.

On the 25th Graduation ceremony at Asahi High a group of the new seniors head up to the Schools roof for a deadly tradition held by the boys who wish to rule the school. A initiation that involves the boys hanging off the side of the building and seeing how many claps they can do before they give up or just fall to their death when they can't grab the rail in time.

And this time Kujo wins the leadership, which does confuse the other boys abit because he is quiet and constantly deep in thought about things but accept it because he won fair and square.

Even though Kujo does seem to be harmless and gentle, when it comes down to it he can be the most violent member of his gang. Though Kujo is the leader of the gang and his Best friend Aoki adores him deeply, Kujo doesn't really want to change anything. He doesn't want to rip the school apart with violence unless he has to. He just feels lost about not knowing what the future holds and what is beyond High School, and constantly asks his friends what they will do after High School because he secretly doesn't know what to do himself. Which annoys Aoki greatly, because he has all of the power and he doesn't want to do anything with it. With this Aoki decides to break off and turn Asahi High into a living hell for everyone who is unlucky enough to get in his way, which in turn rips these Childhood friends apart.

But can they fix their friendship before it's too late?

In the end this Movie really is for all the Gofers, Wanna-bes, Dreamers and lost souls out there. Because everyone can relate to at least one of these characters in Aoi Haru

I'm going to keep it short: I do hope this movie doesn't die out along with the jap trend as it is really worth seeing, especially if you are around (or just past the age of the protagonists) or planning to be involved in education. It's got great yet simple symbolism and a teenage-angst ridden realism that isn't try-hard. If you have experienced anything close to that kind of school envimeronment, it hits home. If you have been as privileged as not to, then it might prove to be quite eye-opening. In other words, it is food for thought, paired with a killer soundtrack, that embraces and escalates the feelings of each scene: be it angst, sadness, pressure or the very abscense of any of them.

The closing night movie for the SF Indie Fest is a vaguely coming of age type drama, set entirely within the grounds of a Japanese boy's school. Here, the kids all run around in gangs, sleep in lectures and fight at break times. Every wall in the place is covered in graffiti. Ryuhei Matsuda (the effeminate guy from GOHATTO) stars as Kuja, a senior who becomes the school's official gang leader by winning at "The Clapping Game". This game involves the kids hanging from a railing on the edge of the school roof, letting go and seeing how many times they can clap their hands before their nerve fails and they grab back on.

From here we follow the progress of his friends and enemies throughout a part of the school year, the challenges to his leadership and the pressure of the school system felt by everyone. There's a hell of a lot of violence goes on in the school, and we get the impression that life as a Japanese school boy is a difficult dangerous business.

It's a pretty bleak and cheerless vision - between this and BATTLE ROYALE you'd be forgiven for thinking that the Japanese school system was on the point of explosion or collapse, with the youth as disaffected as they come. How close this is to reality I don't know, but the friend I saw it with tells me that the classroom scenes are pretty close to how it actually is.

The cast all perform well - Ryuhei Matsuda has such a striking appearance that he doesn't really need to do anything to create an impression, and indeed he spends most of the movie being aloof and impenetrable. This contrasts with the energies and frustrations evident in the other characters, particulary his best friend Aoki.

I enjoyed the movie a lot... good characters, and well filmed/scored, with interesting developments. It's based on a collection of autobiographical short stories from a manga artist, which shows a little bit in the episodic nature of the plot, but it's all weaved together well for the movie. Worth looking out for if you don't mind your high school movies nihilistic, violent and bleak.

I watched this film for the first time a few nights ago, and it was still in my mind as i took my hour's long morning walk to work.it was still not enough time to properly reflect on what i'd just watched. it really touched me deep, it effected me as much as Battle Royale. even though i couldn't get subtitles on my computer the story was easy to pick up and i didn't realise i wasn't reading them. if i could strongly recommend any film other than 'Battle Royale', 'All about Lily Chou-Chou' and 'moonlight jellyfish', it would most definitely be this one.its quite a powerful film. there's more to the story than just whats on the surface and we get to see some of our most lovable Japanese actors play totally new roles. one of which is the lovely 'Sosuke Takaoka' who plays the slightly psychotic 'Yukio', who gives 'Kazuo Kiriyama' a run for his psycho-status.even though he goes out too early he is the one who sticks strongly in my mind,he can change such a simple little tune into one that is quite haunting.all the characters add something special to the film.in my opinion its too short.i love long films and would have liked to get to know a little more of each character,especially 'Yoshimura' ('Shugo Oshinari') 'Yukio' ('Sosuke Takaoka') and 'Takashi Tsukamoto's' character.the violence is strong but none the less kept realistic and believable right up until the breath-holding end,which kind of pulls on the heart-strings but doesn't disappoint in the quality of the ending, only for the fact that we're left with feeling of sadness for 'Aoki', one of the main characters.this film ends in totally the right way to be true to the film.this film was done with pure excellence and is capable of showing beauty through the darkest of violence.many people forget what its like for young kids growing up and the situations, challenges and decisions they have to face. this film can really bring you back down with a truthful slam to the ground.this is one story that will stay firmly set in my mind for a very long time and one that should be acknowledged,all the actors really pull of this film with the highest quality.other than the above mentioned Japanese films, you really will be hard pushed to find such a powerful film to beat this one,you will not be disappointed, guaranteed. Lisa Sawyer(21)