Neo Sora’s subtle dystopian coming of age tale is an often-brilliant myriad of ever-changing ideas about past, present and future societies.
★★★★☆
With Happyend, Japanese filmmaker Neo Sora ventures into fiction for the first time and slam dunks with this complex tale of a group of Japanese students on the edge of adulthood. Part dystopia, part high school drama and part social parable, it somehow never overreaches.
Lifelong friends Ko (Yukido Hidaka) and Yuta (Hayto Kurihara) spend their days disillusioned with their reality. Japan is at constant risk of catastrophic earthquakes, as signposted by constant phone notifications, and the country’s fascist prime minister doesn’t seem to be doing much about it. Yuta likes to party and adopts a nihilistic approach to the end of the world. Caught up with electronic music, a shared group passion, he doesn’t see the point in much beyond “having fun”. Ko is more influenced by social change and wants to make a difference. But when the pair play a prank at their school a facial scanning surveillance system is installed and threatens the students freedom.
Yukido Hidaka is the standout as Ko, his constant look of resignation given endearing levity by his happier moments. Hidaka understands the character and his grievances at having to live in a world which devalues him because of his Korean-ness. Japanese nationalism is prevalent throughout, and shines a light on the type of racism and hate governments stir up daily. The film constantly uses conceits to tell us what the story is about—the earthquake is a metaphor for growing up, both physically and within the set of values which shape a person as they age, for example—but what Sora is really interested in is telling a simple tale of human connection in a disillusioned society.
On the outside the film’s dramatic elements could appear to be more sensationalist, but Sora is careful in his restraint. The ridiculousness of bureaucracy and regime are evident, and it’s telling how starkly similar something presented as futuristic is to contemporary life. He also has a keen eye and artfully directs with inventive uses of shadow and open-ended scenes that don’t at once feel married to the content only to sneak up and click later. This dystopian world is a vehicle for Sora to provide profound truths on our existence, with a style of writing both urgent in its themes but relaxingly loose in its treatment of them. This is a film that will stand the test of time, and remain sadly relevant whatever year you watch it.
The Verdict
An enticing spell is cast and a new mega talent is born with this debut. It’s encouraging to see someone so confident this early on in their career, and Happyend is easily one of the best films of the year to date. A rare beast of a movie, it manages to comment on big issues and injustices in new ways without becoming preachy.
Words by Oscar Aitchison
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