Kirišima, bukacu jamerutte jo

In light of the director’s previous work, but mainly in light of the otherwise uniform state of Japanese cinema, The Kirishima Thing is an unexpected surprise. Though it is still true that the Japanese film industry lacks original screenplays, this criticism would no longer apply if similarly brilliant and non-superficial adaptations were made on the basis of stimulating source material, of which there is indeed no shortage in a country with such tremendous narrative production. The Kirishima Thing brilliantly depicts the dynamics of high-school relationships by means of a spiralling narrative that presents a single period of time from several different perspectives. This narrative approach also effectively yet subtly conveys the stark contrast between social roles within the group and the internal motivations and desires that come to the surface only in hints. Fittingly, the centrepiece of the film is the titular Kirishima, but he never properly appears in the film and despite the fact that everyone relates to him and talks about him as the star of the class, he never speaks. By focusing on this outstanding student, who is paradoxically the only one who is aware of the futility of school activities outside of class, the film reveals the emptiness and uselessness of after-school clubs, which create the illusion of specialisation and personal growth, but actually only serve to confirm the futility of youth and its inevitable end. Though the film has an almost absolute informality, its ambiguity and things left unsaid portray the dynamics of school and, primarily, the bitterness and melancholy of adolescence as eloquently and forcefully as the top films of the past decade with a similar focus, particularly the symbolist Blue Spring and the subtly positive Linda Linda Linda. After a long time, The Kirishima Thing is a work from a neophyte filmmaker that offers a reminder of what once drew people to Japanese films, especially those about growing up. (2014.09.11)