I watched "Himizu" blinded by opinions, not knowing about the manga and with just a little information about the story. I believe cinema is a world language that doesn't known barriers and some films are universal stories we can all easily relay on. The little I read about it was convincing enough to make me watch this out of curiosity just to see how good it could be. It turned out this movie was a frustrating and pointless experience, and reading the positive reviews about it didn't make it better. The experience is confusing, long and with some bits and pieces that are rewarding but not great enough to make it a good film.

The background of it all it's interesting. After the Fukushima disaster, the conflicted teenager Sumida (Shôta Sometani) doesn't feel life is worth living or so much rewarding after the disaster, deeply thinking that what he has and the place where he lives and works it's the only possible outcome for his life, and he accepts it with pride of being mediocre. He has lots of encouraging people next to him, who think he'll have a great future outside of the house boat renting place of his mom, at the same time his parents are distant: the father only comes to bash and assault him and the mother leaves after a while.

The other distant figure is Keiko (Fumi Nikaidô),a girl who's deeply in love with him but he doesn't want anything with her, and despite pushing her to stay away she keeps coming back insisting in knowing him better. In several erratic behavior sequences, the movie keeps pushing us too hard in believing this relationship up until the moment it actually works out, but before that they push each other, they slap each other and are ruthless to one another. It's insane.

While dealing with his personal conflicts, later on Sumida discovers that his father is owing money to dangerous people, all of whom are aggressive to the boy who wishes to kill them all and that's where a rampage of murderous desire will inflict after killing his own father. Those are moments of twisted violence with Sumida getting beaten several times again and again. Not only him, but also his best friend, a much older man, gets beaten in cowardly ways.

So here's a story full of melancholy and sadness that tries to present a deep and meaningful work about loneliness and the troubles of a youth facing troubles in the aftermath of a terrible real tragedy. I've seen better than this. Here, all I could think about the characters way of expressing themselves and acting with others was that they were all crazy in the head and that maybe the Fukushima radiation had affected more than the tsunami that left visible scars and desolation.

Nothing was credible and dreams and fantasies all get confused when mixed with reality. I felt lost whenever Sumida had his visions of violence, not knowing exactly if he was dreaming or was it real (it takes some time to actually find out what's real or not).

The parts involving Sumida's friend dealing with the mobsters was interesting; and the heavy use of classical music in the score was amazing even though the images weren't so fulfilling, almost pretentious. I won't say the film was badly acted, the youngsters have the best and the wildest parts but it's a waste they're not in a better project. They're wild and free to make anything here but most of their acts are pointless (except for the "sorrow stones" which Keiko holds her everytime she's mad with Sumida and she keeps on promising when her pockets get filled she'll throw at him - and she does.

I was expecting for more relatable characters who care for each other despite the world they live in being doomed and chaotic. Instead, I was rewarded with a girl forcing herself to love and help a troubled and careless boy who doesn't know where is going with his life - and when he reached some enlightnement I wasn't convinced that everything worked so simple for both of them, and that love was the ultimate force that drove them back to sanity (maybe we accept that kind of thing in melodramas or your typical Hollywood film). The drama was poor, the humored moments weren't funny and almost nothing works. It's too messy.

Thumbs down for this. 4/10.

So many times, as a westerner, viewing Japanese films, the cry of 'Only in Japan' comes to mind. This is in part because that country remains amazingly insular and proud of its culture and unchanging ways despite the presence of the Americans and all the world's external influence upon it. Here in this passionate offering from Sion Sono are all the usual tropes, mistreated and misunderstood youth, dispassionate parents, loan sharks and the yakuza, life, death and honour plus an almost whimsical belief in 'tomorrow' are all on display. Shortly after the film was conceived came the Fukushima disaster with its earthquake and tsunami crippling the nuclear plant and the director amended his script to include this further element of doom and disaster. It is well done, if a little overlong, with the actors partly improvising but it is disconcertingly 'in your face' and if the suicidal intentions seem a little drastic, the dreams of a sunny tomorrow also seem rather optimistic. The final plea to youngsters to be more positive and ride out all the pessimism seems a little naive seen from afar but may well resonate within that beautiful but mixed up country. It certainly surprised me that Sono would end the film in such an evangelical way but then I may have missed some of the film's finer points and cannot fully appreciate what it must be like to live under the perpetual threat of annihilation, never mind the constant reminders like that of Fukushima.

Okay so this is another Japanese movie based on a Japanese manga. But this movie adds it's own flare to it, instead of trying to be exactly like the manga. Now this might disappoint some hardcore fans of the manga. But personally I liked the direction this movie took, it just went with the more emotional style instead of constant awkward Japanese humor that is in the manga. Not saying this movie is better than the manga or visa versa. It just has a different tone and style going for it. Sure the characters in this are very awkward and does things that doesn't make much sense. But those elements actually work for this movie, sometimes in Japanese movies the awkwardness can go all over the place without being consistent. This movie is actually consistent for the most part. Plus just about all the actors in this did a great job while also bringing out good amount of emotion. And just about all the character are likable for the most part even if what they do doesn't make much sense sometimes. Even some of the effects doesn't make much sense like the music for instance that constantly play classical music, especially from Mozart. But these effects that doesn't make much sense comes together in a consistent package overall. This movie shows that sometimes you can't judge people just by your perception alone but need to be in their shoes to understand since we all come from different background. It also has other messages but that one stood out the most. This is a fine manga adaptation that shows that not everything has to be word for word or frame by frame.

7.5/10