Himizu

Spoilers after the first paragraph** Himizu is an absolutely gut wrenching arthouse piece that deals with the effects of the 2011 tsunami and earthquake that rattled Japan. It differs from many other Sion Sono films by having a strong focus on hope, rather than his typical social commentary that critiques society in comedically violent and extreme ways. *“I know flies in milk. **Specks against white. **I know, I know it. **I know a man by his clothes. **Even I know that much. **I know fair weather from foul. **I know that. **I know the apple by the tree. **That I know. **I know who labor and who loafs. **I know all. **All save myself. **I know all things. **I know pink cheeks from wan. **I know death who devours all. **I know everything. *Everything but myself.” This is a poem in the film that is constantly referenced. It’s an example of knowing the world, and what it contains, without ever knowing yourself. It’s an example of feeling isolated and lost in life when you feel it has no meaning. It shows us that in society there are people who have nothing, not even themselves which leads to the eventual outbursts displayed in the film. Specifically, I believe it’s meant to be targeted at the survivors of 2011, as with the loss of their materialistic lives they are left with nothing but an empty shell of themselves. It’s how the film establishes its connection to hope for a future, and effects of trauma and disaster on people. Sumida is a boy who is abused, neglected, and constantly told to kill himself which leaves him in a fragile state that constantly causes him to lash out and hurt those who are actually there to support him. His main supporter, his classmate Keiko, is also abused and neglected in the same manner. Her parents build her a literal gallow (crazy fucked up btw) in their garage to get her to kill herself so they can claim insurance money. It’s an absolutely abhorrent image that displays the darkest cruelty’s of humanity in maintaining self in times of struggle. There is hope though. Keiko becomes Sumida’s cheerleader in a way, constantly helping him in any way she can even when it hurts her. Sumida whose life was defined by abuse can’t accept care as he’s never experienced it, so he lashes out in the one way he knows how. He constantly abuses her by smacking, throwing, and insulting her to the point that it almost becomes a regular occurrence. Sumida inevitably reaches a breaking point where he kills his father in a fit of anger and motivation from a stranger that visits the boathouse. He breaks down when he finds out the stranger also committed a mass murder due to their interaction, leaving Sumida feeling like he was the monster, shattering his idealized version of justice. Even after he’s shown how evil his actions were, he is still unable to accept that his justice is wrong (fear of loss of identity). After the murder shit really hits the fan. Sumida in a total mental collapse covers himself in paint and decides to dedicate his life to killing those he deems harmful to society. He eventually has a revelation that what he’s doing isn’t justice, but instead senseless harm that won’t fix anything. This revelation comes from the support systems he built by assisting those in need after the tragedy. It’s a perfect example of community in hardship, and why it’s so important to have humanity towards people in need (literally saying be nice to homeless people). That’s where the final scenes with Keiko become so deeply emotional. Keiko tells him he can have a life, and if he puts himself first he can have what he always wanted instead of throwing his life away. They dream about a life together where they’re married and have a kid to create this image of a happy family. It’s so deeply moving to watch them dream of a life that felt so out of reach the entire film due to Sumida’s self destructive path caused by the trauma of his parents (dad deserved to die 😬). Part of this redemption though involves turning himself in to makeup for the murder of his father. It leaves the ending a little uncertain, as I wonder if Keiko would really wait out his sentence to be with him, or if she’d end up with someone new like Sumida says. To me though it doesn’t really matter, as the hope for a new life which rejuvenates Sumida is the most hopeful ending that I think could’ve been had for the character. This hope is also meant to be a parallel to the survivors of the earthquake. Although their lives have been torn to shreds, they must keep moving forward and maintain hope in order to live their lives in the future. It’s a poetic ending that inspires a reason to live a life of pain that feels like it has no end in sight. It truly is one of the most soul crushing, yet uplifting films I’ve ever watched that absolutely hooks you with its main relationship, where they overcome their traumas through shared experience and care. Sumida is the husband Keiko always wanted, and Keiko is the guiding force Sumida always needed. This film is also beautifully shot in such a disgusting way. The boathouse feels so depressing every time you look at it, and combined with the mud and water it creates such an uncomfortable atmosphere that puts you right in the mental state of the characters. Of course later when the boathouse is painted it gives the atmosphere a new light that fits into the idea of redemption. But overall everything is made to feel intense, and almost unfulfilling to the highest extent to create a sense of loss. Sion Sono is an absolute magician in creating absurd worlds that feel so in touch with reality on a deeper level, yet are never physically grounded in reality. This film however feels much more grounded and dark then his previous films that I’ve seen, creating a world that feels like it absolutely could be someone’s despairing reality. In actuality it kind of is, the tsunami devastated neighborhood is not a set, but rather an actual neighborhood that was destroyed placing you directly in the shoes of the people who’s lives were impacted by the events of 2011. These images bury themselves within you and explode at the climax, where you inevitably know nothing will ever be the same for these people, yet they still get to live on and have normal lives at some point as long as they don’t lose hope. Overall it’s a film that is deeply connected to tragedy and trauma that never clings to ideas of recovery. It makes it clear these things stay with you and are hard to recover from, especially when you think of yourself as a single person who only needs to care for yourself. The film makes it clear that redemption and a better future are always within reach in even the worst cases, you just need to have hope and create dreams to chase. We are also presented with ideas of how important a support system is, and how helping someone in need is an essential part to creating a better world moving forward into the future. Fantastic film, and as much as I know Sion Sono isn’t a great individual, I can’t deny his craft that makes him one of my favorite directors oat. I can’t wait to watch more of his films because this man creates some of the finest pieces of Japanese cinema, which imo places him near the likes of Akira Kurosawa, and Hirokazu Kore-eda (as crazy as it sounds). They are extremely different styles of filmmaking, but the connection I feel towards Sono’s work places him very highly in my personal tier list of directors even if he’s not everyone’s cup of tea.