
Watches
May 03, 2021
Obayashi goes full in on this youthful romance. After a short introduction in the city, he moves his film to the countryside and serves up a very idyllic, sweet and explosive romance. Fans of Hausu may be surprised, but dig deeper into the man's oeuvre and you'll find he made plenty of softer youth dramas.
A biker kid is threatened by his girlfriend's brother and decides to take a little road trip. He takes his favored bike and leaves everything behind. Not long after he runs into a mysterious young girl. When she invites him to her island, he decides to take a change and accepts her invitation.
I'm not entirely sure if the alternations between color and sepia made much sense here, but at least the cinematography was pretty impressive. Performances are fine, the energy of the film is great and there are a few memorable moments, the soundtracks pretty cheesy though and the film does have some pacing issues. But if you love Obayashi's work, it's definitely worth checking out.
More by the director
Nobuhiko Ôbayashi

Sada

Bound for the Fields, the Mountains, and the Seacoast

Emotion

Hanagatami

House

Lonelyheart

Switching - Goodbye Me

The Little Girl Who Conquered Time

The Visitor in the Eye

Beijing Watermelon

Castings Blossoms to the Sky

Chizuko's Younger Sister

Cute Devil

Four Sisters

Goodbye for Tomorrow

I Are You, You Am Me

Labyrinth of Cinema

Samurai Kids

School in the Crosshairs

The Adventures of Kosuke Kindaichi

The Discarnates

The Drifting Classroom

Haruka, Nostalgia

Seven Weeks

Take Me Away!

The Deserted City

The Island Closest to Heaven

The Rocking Horsemen
