Kiyoshi Kurosawa is a director I want to like more, though for me, his films often fall flat on their conclusion after a decent build-up. Whether one of his straight horror efforts or his more psychological work, with the exception of "Tokyo Sonata" or "Cure", I am left bemused, and not always in a good way.
"Bright Future", however, seems to turn this routine on its head, in that I was bemused throughout, but on the film's conclusion I actually found things to make some sort of sense.
Nimura (Joe Odagiri) and Mamoru (Tadanobu Asano) work low-level jobs that provide them with little stimulation, and a boss who isn't always respectful in their direction. Nimura wants to show his boss who's the boss, but there's one tiny problem: Mamoru got there before him. Nimura next sees Mamoru in prison, seemingly not too upset by the whole event.
Enter Mamoru's dad, Shinichiro (Tatsuya Fuji), who is estranged from his wife and two sons. Trying to reconnect with his son again, he is unsure how he will be able to fund the legal fees, working as a handyman. But Mamoru takes himself out of the equation, leaving Shinichiro to turn his attentions to Nimura and try and build the father-son relationship he never had. But Nimura is torn as to which way he wants his life to go: either the way of Mamoru or Shinichiro.
As you'd expect from Kurosawa, the pace early on is slow and the tone monochrome, feeling almost grey in colour. The narrative is fairly loose early on before Shinichiro's introduction. The pair are both quite indifferent to the world, though Mamoru has a calm that Nimura lacks - hence why he is perhaps more decisive in his acts.
But ultimately the pair are an alienated youth looking for direction. Shinichiro, realising how he was little of a father to his two sons, feels that he now needs to take the responsibility of guiding all young men, namely Nimura. And while Nimura is receptive, he still wants to wander off and travel a wilder path.
His sister Miho (Sayuri Oyamada), forcing him into an office dogsbody job, sees him lead a younger gang to an ultimately doomed act. On seeing the others' fate, he decides that Shinichiro's path is perhaps a better one.
What is more bemusing, however, is the side story of Mamoru giving Nimura his pet jellyfish. From prison, he guides him on how to look after it, though Nimura's ability to do so is limited, and soon he loses it to Tokyo's water network. This results in a whole school of deadly jellyfish moving through Tokyo, which provides some nice shots, but is also a little strange as to what is going on.
But the gang of seemingly aimless jellyfish soon find their own way to escape out of Tokyo and the final shot of the gang Nimura tagged along with wandering their way through Tokyo soon puts things into place.
Kurosawa enjoys leaving his endings open, and this is no exception. His films end either very satisfying or a little disappointing. Luckily, "Bright Future" is among the former and the payoff for the slow pacing is worth it. The bright, floating jellyfish of the canals are mirrored by the bright headsets of the young gang running the alleyways, providing some contrast to the grainy drab images throughout. Whether or not the future is bright for the youth is up to them. All one can do is try and guide them in the right direction. After a slow start to get going, Kurosawa is able to show "Bright Future" to the right path.
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"Bright Future", however, seems to turn this routine on its head, in that I was bemused throughout, but on the film's conclusion I actually found things to make some sort of sense.
Nimura (Joe Odagiri) and Mamoru (Tadanobu Asano) work low-level jobs that provide them with little stimulation, and a boss who isn't always respectful in their direction. Nimura wants to show his boss who's the boss, but there's one tiny problem: Mamoru got there before him. Nimura next sees Mamoru in prison, seemingly not too upset by the whole event.
Enter Mamoru's dad, Shinichiro (Tatsuya Fuji), who is estranged from his wife and two sons. Trying to reconnect with his son again, he is unsure how he will be able to fund the legal fees, working as a handyman. But Mamoru takes himself out of the equation, leaving Shinichiro to turn his attentions to Nimura and try and build the father-son relationship he never had. But Nimura is torn as to which way he wants his life to go: either the way of Mamoru or Shinichiro.
As you'd expect from Kurosawa, the pace early on is slow and the tone monochrome, feeling almost grey in colour. The narrative is fairly loose early on before Shinichiro's introduction. The pair are both quite indifferent to the world, though Mamoru has a calm that Nimura lacks - hence why he is perhaps more decisive in his acts.
But ultimately the pair are an alienated youth looking for direction. Shinichiro, realising how he was little of a father to his two sons, feels that he now needs to take the responsibility of guiding all young men, namely Nimura. And while Nimura is receptive, he still wants to wander off and travel a wilder path.
His sister Miho (Sayuri Oyamada), forcing him into an office dogsbody job, sees him lead a younger gang to an ultimately doomed act. On seeing the others' fate, he decides that Shinichiro's path is perhaps a better one.
What is more bemusing, however, is the side story of Mamoru giving Nimura his pet jellyfish. From prison, he guides him on how to look after it, though Nimura's ability to do so is limited, and soon he loses it to Tokyo's water network. This results in a whole school of deadly jellyfish moving through Tokyo, which provides some nice shots, but is also a little strange as to what is going on.
But the gang of seemingly aimless jellyfish soon find their own way to escape out of Tokyo and the final shot of the gang Nimura tagged along with wandering their way through Tokyo soon puts things into place.
Kurosawa enjoys leaving his endings open, and this is no exception. His films end either very satisfying or a little disappointing. Luckily, "Bright Future" is among the former and the payoff for the slow pacing is worth it. The bright, floating jellyfish of the canals are mirrored by the bright headsets of the young gang running the alleyways, providing some contrast to the grainy drab images throughout. Whether or not the future is bright for the youth is up to them. All one can do is try and guide them in the right direction. After a slow start to get going, Kurosawa is able to show "Bright Future" to the right path.
politic1983.home.blog