Pikunikku

This work by Iwai Shunji shows the strengths of the short film genre. Valuing atmosphere and cinematics as much as plot, it avoids the trap many primarily visual movies fall into by being just the right length to catch and hold the viewer's attention. Iwai is at his best here, showing his Christopher Doyle influences (and, thankfully, not his earlier TV-directing influences). He has also managed once again to pull exemplary performances from the cast.

The story itself follows three psychologically disturbed people who leave their institution on a misdirected quest. Beyond that it is difficult to avoid saying too much, as, after all, this is a short film and hence has an appropriately short script.

While Iwai Shunji's earlier works lie among the dregs of Japanese cinematography, Picnic (as well as Swallowtail) should elevate him to the status of one of Japan's best modern directors. One can only hope that he can continue making works of this superb quality.

In Picnic, director Shunji Iwai has crafted a short film of visual beauty and lyric poetry. Three young inmates at a mental institution walk along a wall connecting the hospital to the outside world and simply keep going, perhaps a metaphor for the Jungian idea of the long journey back to the genuine self. As they travel on a ledge between the ground and the sky, each in their own way attempts to liberate themselves from their inauthenticity and recapture the experience of wholeness. The inmates are Coco, played by Chara, a Japanese pop singer who would later star in Iwai's Swallowtail Butterfly, Tsumuji, performed by Tadanobu Asano, now the husband of Chara, and Satoru (Koichi Hashizumi).

The first twenty minutes are set inside the institution. A reluctant Chara is delivered to the hospital by her parents and is subject to abuse and mistreatment by a female attendant. Tsumuji has murdered one of his teachers who was abusing him and sees the dead man's ghost before him in a very disturbing sequence. It is not clear why Satoru is there but we see scenes of him masturbating excessively. As the three find a common bond, they set out on their journey, first encountering a young choir at a Christian church singing an otherworldly hymn. They are befriended by the priest who gives them a bible even though Tsumuji says he is a non-believer.

When the boy reads the publication date, however, he concludes that will be the day the world will end and the three decide to have a picnic at the nearby lighthouse to wait for the fateful moment. As they prepare to witness the world's end, they open up to each other with a childlike innocence and acknowledge their wrongdoing. Elizabeth Lesser says, "The price for staying heart blind is a life unlived". The Dalai Lama has gone as far as saying that "the tendency to avoid problems and the emotional suffering inherent in them is the primary basis of all mental illness". As they talk to each other and begin to make connection, they become real people not "mental patients".

While the film's meaning may be different to each viewer, to me it is saying that we should live our life as if the world will end tomorrow, be in touch with the beauty of each moment, and acknowledge the actions in our life that may have harmed others. Whatever the message, Picnic is a stunning achievement, each scene capable of standing alone as a unique work of art. In spite of a sadness that reminded me of my own dark moods of adolescence, it left me with a feeling of transcendence.

I am very impressed by shunji iwai's films just like everyone else seems to be. I loved swallowtail butterfly so much. This film was good too, but it seemed to lack the feeling of reality and the created world in swallowtail.

Chara is really awesome, and the other two guys do well at times, and lack at times in their acting skills. the loony people just don't always seem that looney, you can at times tell that they are just acting that way.

still the film is done beautifully, and the story is interesting enough. watching three crazy people take a walk on a wall to see the end of the world is certainly original, and surprises may come. so anyhow. i would say that you should watch this, but don`t miss swallowtail.

Director: Iwai Shunji Duration: 72 minutes

Iwai Shunji is a fascinating director. He is able to hold the viewer's interest during films that last for over two hours, and can also engross the viewer in an emotionally intense film that lasts only 47 minutes. I have thoroughly enjoyed _All About Lily Chou Chou_, _Love Letter_, _April Story_, and _Undo_, so I was looking quite forward to viewing _Picnic_. Also, being a huge fan of Asano Tadanobu, I was looking forward to watching one of his earlier films. I was definitely not disappointed.

_Picnic_ focuses on the lives of three mental patients: Coco, played by Chara, Tsumuji, played by Asano Tadanobu, and Satoru, played by Koichi Hashizume. Each individual has their own personal demons and suffer not only mental torment, but also are mistreated by the nurses. Their only solace is to walk along the wall of the asylum and view the world they are hidden from. The only person on the outside who is moderately kind to them is a Catholic Priest who gives Tsumuji a bible. Tsumuji reads the bible and is comforted by the fact that the world is soon going to come to an end on July 10th of that year. He was actually looking at the date the book was first published. The three friends decided to pass the walls of the asylum on that day and welcome in the destruction of the earth with a picnic.

This is a great little film. Not being a fan of Japanese pop music my only knowledge concerning the singer Chara are the facts that she is married to Asano Tadanobu and that she has acted in two of Iwai Shunji's films, the one I am writing on here and _Swallowtail_. However, I think that she did a fine job of acting, and the times in which she is racked by mental torment are quite moving. Asano Tadanobu's acting is extraordinary. I felt my heart tightening when he reveals his darkest secrets to Coco. Great film. Check it out!

Picnic (1996) - Movie

Picnic, directed by Shunji Iwai, is a surreal and poetic Japanese film that explores themes of mental illness, existential searching, and human connection through a dreamlike lens. Set mostly within the walls of a bleak mental asylum and its desolate outskirts, the story follows three young patients-Coco, Tsumuji, and Satoru-who each carry emotional wounds and delusions that shape their reality.

Coco, a fragile girl with a troubled past, forms a strange bond with Tsumuji, who believes the end of the world is imminent. After discovering a Bible, Tsumuji becomes convinced the world will end on a date he misinterprets, and the trio begins preparing for doomsday. They break out of the asylum and embark on a whimsical, sometimes dark, journey across the city's rooftops, believing they must find the perfect spot to witness the apocalypse-a "picnic" with the end of everything.

Shot in a grainy, washed-out style that heightens its haunting beauty, Picnic blends fantasy and despair. The characters' distorted perceptions and naive attempts to understand the world offer a stark commentary on the alienation and confusion felt by the mentally ill, and perhaps by youth in general. The film shifts between eerie silence, philosophical musings, and bursts of childlike joy, often blurring the line between imagination and reality.

As their journey nears its end, Coco comes to her own interpretation of freedom and existence, which leads to a quiet, ambiguous conclusion that invites reflection rather than resolution. The ending suggests both an escape and a transcendence, depending on the viewer's perspective.

Minimalist in plot but rich in emotional depth and atmosphere, Picnic is a contemplative work that uses its 68-minute runtime to leave a lasting impression. It remains one of Iwai's most enigmatic and visually poetic creations.

Review written by artist jayakumar jrain.