Ride or Die

I admire this film for trying to tackle relatively stigmatized issues like LGBT and depression in Japan, but I feel like the director didn't really have a clear vision in mind when making this movie. Scenes are overly long and the movie very much does not follow the typical buildup-conflict-resolution structure that most movies have. It feels like they just put all the raw footage together and released it, without trying to edit/shorten any of the scenes. Even with all of that, our two characters barely get any background other than a few school flashbacks. There are just sooo many scenes that go on for wayyy too long and/or add nothing to the main narrative. If the director really wanted to try and flesh out so many different characters and motivations he should have pitched this as a short series rather than a movie. Those sort of long, hanging shots would be far more acceptable in a series than a movie. I suppose it might also be because this was based on a manga, and trying to cram in years worth of manga story into a movie, even a 2.5 hour one, doesn't really work unless you focus on a specific story beat. It's a shame, really, I think it's got a good premise just executed really poorly.

I liked the purity of this film. Really felt the passion from the actors in this. Cute, sad, happy all at the same time.

There is a song by LOX and an artist/rapper (Eve) called Ride or Die chick. Well sometimes they use a different word and not chick, but I only mention it, because the title reminded me of the song ... and I reckon you could say it is fitting when it comes to the story.

Now this starts off quite intense ... sexy time (and nudity) and violence combined into something quite horrible - in a "good sense" I reckon. As in suspensful and making the movie interesting ... not to mention the characters. Then we get a flashback that explains why we are were we are ... and then the drama starts and unfolds. So while you may feel that the movie starts with a bang (no pun intended), it really does slow down.

So I reckon some might not like this because of the way it starts (squeamish people) and some will not like how it continues ... those who got sucked in by that really powerful beginning. And then there are those like me, who like the mixture of those two things. Slow moving mostly, it does not hold back its punches ... not for the faint hearted as you may already have recognized.

Had potential story with good acting, expect it too dark for romance movie and also the pacing slow.

Kinda hard at first, but as the movie continues you get attached to the story and its a 2hour journey of many feelings while watching it, loved so much the performances by the two actresses, it was the first time I've watched their work, I have to say, big round of applause for kiko mizuhara, she carried the movie graciously, her performance was on point.