Kirishima, bukatsu yamerutteyo

It's a good example of characterization in film. As long as the characters are crafted nicely, put them in any situation, the film will be as interesting as any award winning film (I said interesting, not as good as!). This film is directed by Daihachi Yoshida with simple or almost without a straight forward story line. The motive is to show high school students' self- searching process. Yoshida just put in a situation, a famous student disappears. Then the interesting characters will just lead the way as it effects every society in the school. Suzuka Ohgo, as Aya Sawashima, is worth notice. She do not have much lines but her expressions is just as full as a full cream milk...

I had no expectations upon watching this movie and I wasn't disappointed. I understood what the director was trying to do and the plot definitely doesn't take a genius to unravel. But seriously! This movie almost put me to sleep if it wasn't for Ai Hashimoto. The execution of the scenes was predictable and the actors failed to deliver salvation. To be honest, I was surprised that this movie got so many awards. Best editing? Best film? Best director? What the heck LOL! It makes me question the credibility of Japanese award giving bodies. Basically, The Kirishima Thing lacks substance and no matter how complex the characters are, the lousy script, monotonous scenes (i mean seriously! there is another way to portray these scenes without causing a headache) and the shallow plot brought the whole film to its demise.

"The Kirishima Thing" comes well-recommended with its major 2013 Japan Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director among others. This the reason why I chose to watch it first among the festival entries.

Kirishima is the star volleyball player and most popular guy of a certain high school. One day he mysteriously just quit the team and disappeared. Understandably, his teammates in the volleyball team and his close friends Hiroki and girl friend Risa, are all greatly affected by his sudden absence. This film also follows all the other kids in school (such as the film nerd and the band saxophonist girl) and how Kirishima's disappearance also affected them indirectly.

It was interesting to see the interactions of the attractive young actors like Ai Hashimoto, Mizuki Yamamoto, Suzuka Ohgo and Masahiro Higashide, who were all very natural in their acting. However, there is hardly a coherent story line that the film follows. We know one student had a crush on another one, and there was a lot of staring and longing that did not lead anywhere. I cannot see a definite point of the film as a whole. It felt like just going on and on without a clear message that it wanted to convey. Maybe there is no message nor story, just a documentation of what happened and nothing more.

I believe the primary purpose of this movie is to, demonstrate how relationships and conflicts are so diverse across individuals, that their perception on a similar matter can never be the same. For that, high marks are awarded.

Kirishima is supposed to be the popular student but never present in the movie physically speaking. His unintentional absence instead is to provide a pivot...and eventually proved to the audience that one's absence could trigger unwanted effects on the togetherness/friendship/reliance on another individual. And the effects can be compounded. The movie repeatedly play the same scenes several times, but at different camera angles and different 'main characters' to illustrate the aforementioned views.

The final scene was a letdown to me as the gathering on the rooftop it was rather unrealistic. but overall, not many movies are able to illustrate well the effect when the plot only happened in such a short span of time.

I find Japanese people and their culture very interesting because their social interactions and their humor are so different. They also have a great talent for telling stories that touch you in some way. Maybe that's why I found this movie enjoyable too, even though some would say it's just a highschool teen gossip and drama movie, with all the clichés - from the nerdy guys, to the bitchy girls, to the sports jocks. It does however have quite a lot of charming and heartwarming moments. It's not at all as superficial and "fake" as any comparable movie out of Hollywood. Also there is not any disgusting over-sexualization, which is quite refreshing as well.

I'd say definitely give it a watch, you'll like it.