Insutôru

This film attempts to explore the sleazy cyberworld of internet sex chats, and suggests things that we all know of cyberworld - you might not be who you are represented online. Am I talking to a hot young chick? Probably. But chances are that it could turn out to be a balding fat gay man pretending to be a hot young chick.

The pretty Aya Ueto stars as 17 year old Japanese schoolgirl Asako, who one day decides to play truant and ponder on what she wants to do in life. She chances upon 10 year old elementary schoolboy Aoki, who is extremely horny, and introduces her to the world of cybersex, and lucrative business of impersonating an online woman in a chat room.

As expected, cheap laughs result from numerous awkward situations between the two, and from the interactions in the chat room. There is a moment when the filmmakers attempt to highlight the dangers of net predators, but somehow it was quickly brushed over with humour from the next scene. They have also tried to explore other themes like meaning of life, etc, but like films with weak story lines, this only serves to distract and frustrate audiences.

This film might seem to appeal to fans of American Pie, but given that the raunchy US flick has lots of skin to show, this one pales in comparison, and falls flat in its choppy delivery. The yawning and complaints from the rest of the audience tells me that their sentiments are the same. Probably the only saving grace of this film are the lingering soft focus shots of Aya Ueto.

I watched this film as a fan of Wataya Risa's writing and especially her novel Install. She wrote it while still a teenager herself, and later won the prestigious Akutagawa award for her novel Keritai Senaka (The Back I Want To Kick). When Asako is lying on her back on the boy's bed, the book you can see beside her with the blue cover is Keritai Senaka.

The film did well in capturing some of the strengths of the novel: the surreal, dreamy quality; the absurd storyline; and the humorous character interaction. In many scenes we get the pervading sense of children being surrounded by reminders of adult sexuality, which seem to them to come from a strange and unknown world. Asako, a 17- year-old virgin, is uncomfortable with society's expectation that she will be sexually active, as evidenced by her discomfort with the lacy panties and bras featured colorfully in both the film and the novel. The adults in the novel, both parents and teachers, seem to wield their sexuality as weapons of influence and intimidation. Notably, there is the female teacher who is having an affair with a male student, and the boy's stepmother, who makes him uncomfortable with her questions and flaunting of her womanly body. The precocious elementary-school boy, impersonating a married housewife/prostitute, is very funny, and his acting is flawless.

The weakness of this film is the slow pacing. There were numerous overly long interludes with repetitive music playing and nothing much happening. During these moments I was often tempted to pause it and go do something else. It should have been more tightly edited, even if it would have resulted in a shorter film. Since the novel itself was so short, rather than the usual impression of a long book being ruthlessly cut for film, you have the feeling that a short story was stretched out to fill a feature-length movie, without much original content added.

The reason I personally like both the novel and the film is that I do think it's possible to reset your life ("Install" yourself) by unconventional means, having new experiences that allow you to start over, feeling okay about life again. I think this story has a message of hope, delivered in a humorous way, for people overwhelmed by apathy towards the chore of everyday life.

This is the first movie I've watched from Aya Ueto that isn't so bloody (According that I've only watched two of her films and its Azumi 1 and 2). I must say, this film is A-OK Film, not so bad, it has some funny parts in it. In one point, I've never seen a movie using a 10 year old kid to go on a sex chat which of course it seem sort of weird in some way.

This movie is in relation to comedy and drama with a story line that I have never seen before, but to point this out, after about half way through the movie, the movie gets sort of boring, I expected more funnier things to happen which of course it sort of did but to point out that it was a bit dry. The story line, well it is based on a 10 year old kid taking over a sex chat site from a 25-year old woman which of course that is the part of the movie but revealing that a 10 year old kid is on hands with a sex chat and has a passion of being extremely horny - in revelation: it felt weird and awkward, including the part where Asako Nozawa (Aya Ueto) lets Kazuyoshi (Ryunosuke Kamiki) give a little feel. But pointing out the good view, the movie isn't so bad, after all it is quite funny and seeing that Aya looked really pretty in that film as a 17 year old high school student, at least there is some taste of the film.

6/10 - This movie is not that bad, but would like to see more excitement.

Based on a novel I have not read, this is the story of Asako (the pretty Aya Ueto) who feels her life is too much like everyone else's. To stop the homogenization she stops going to school and meets a young boy (Ryunosuke Kamiki), who is quite active in internet chat rooms, posing as a housewife. Asako enters this little world and the film is basically what happens. The film has a slow pace, which is essential, but the story it tells once in a while seems strange. The connect between the two main characters, given their age differences, is a bit disconcerting at first. However, as a film about teenage angst and uncertainty, this film is not bad. Recommended for teens and post teens. The acting is good. If you're in your teens to mid 20's, you'll like this best.