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| Extreme Cuteness in the wake of Fukushima |
Is this film a rollicking feel-good comedy about kids with cute imaginary friends coping with crazy violence in an uncertain world, or a sobering commentary on how that violence is endemic, and that one must struggle for kindness and understanding in the face of out-of-control technologies? Both? I figure I'll write my thoughts on the film before I read reviews on it, so I think some of the plot here may be lost in translation. Here we go.
Masashi and his mother are returning home after spending a while in an evacuation center. Masashi's nightmares and Mom's tears over a family photograph suggest the recent loss of the family's father, perhaps in the Fukushima disaster. Young Uncle Noato works for a defense organization that's run by eager teenagers wearing black hooded capes, who have given all the children in the area an imaginary electronic F.R.I.E.N.D. and a device to control it, in order to harness the children's negative energy to save the world from natural disasters (even though their ultimate maniacal plan is to reap destruction in order to cleanse the world and start over--I think.) Meanwhile, the parents, adults, and authority figures are really clueless, rule-driven, and unimaginative, joining cults and basically ignoring their kids. The evil teen superhero/scientists/wizards/whatever have somehow sussed out that these kids, former friends, will ultimately turn against each other during dire competitions between their technological friends/gizmos, creating a ton of negative energy (a good thing). With me so far?
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| Saki and Masashi in their goofy school uniforms |
Saki and Masashi meet cute at the school, where they try to stay out of the fighting cute critter olympics, even though they each have their own adorable creatures. Masashi has Kurage-bo (or Jellyfish Boy) and Saki's "F.R.I.E.N.D." is Luxor.
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| Kurage-bo is Super cute! |
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| Luxor is also Cute! |
Somehow all this technological cuteness, under the thumb of the maniacal teenagers, is channeled through Masashi (who is a repository of negative energy) into a giant Techno creature who is out to destroy the town (and the now evil teens are happy about this havoc). He's also pretty cute.
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| Cute Giant Eraserhead-like Monster that smashes the town |
Honestly, this film was so over-the-top that I couldn't figure out if I was watching a Camp extravaganza and send-up of Japanese pop culture, or something that was utterly earnest and sincere. Granted, it could be both, but that's where I felt that I really needed to get more cultural references. Some of the familiar themes of Japanese anime--the corruption of humanity by the power of technology, the emotional rift between children and adults, the way communities cope with disaster--were overwhelmed by the craziness. What is the deal with the teenagers in hooded capes? How about the "environmental" cult that worships purity in the face of Fukushima's contamination? What about the teachers who run the school? The acting is so hyperbolic, it's just kind of hilarious. Is that feeling intentional? I hope so. I'm going with that impulse.
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| School kids can save the world |
So the schoolmates and former friends must band together and quit fighting in order to work together and stop the creature from destroying their town and world. Do they succeed? Well, what do you think?
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| Cuteness rules! |
While I feel like I might have missed some of the crucial references in this film, I think I get the gist, and the world is saved by CUTENESS. Murakami's pop culture world is vivid and fun, and if you let yourself succumb to the visual extravaganza, the film's complete lack of logic doesn't really matter. I think I'll have to see it again just to explore a bit further its symbolism and tone.
