Picnic
"What did you pray for?"
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"The end of the world."
When the people meant to save us are those who abuse us, it breaks the spirit. There are so many systems in place meant to help those who are too burdened to help themselves, but those systems are so easily ruined. All too often, those who are the most vulnerable become the most bruised, with some that last a lifetime, some can be debilitating, and some can isolate those who need support the most. The systems in place aren't going away any time soon, so what can we do? You do what you can.
The sense of floating aimlessly through the world because your anchor was lost, that's what this movie is about. However, unlike a movie like Nowhere's more cynical outlook, Picnic is different. It has that signature Iwai flair of taking something you don't want to think about, bearing it to the camera, and saying "do you see the hope in here?" Nowhere was about the search for an anchor, while Picnic is accepting everything as an anchor. Connecting yourself to everything in this world you possibly can, especially when you can't seem to connect to yourself. The grass below us, the promise of God, even hoping for the end of the world. Finding comfort and connection in your own mortality is something that so many have to do out of necessity because the systems in place to help have failed so dramatically. So many of us try to avoid even thinking about death, let alone finding comfort in it. Iwai takes this, bears it to the camera, and says "look, they're on to something."
Sometimes, this world is awful. Sometimes, I want nothing more than to go to sleep and never wake up. Sometimes, all you need to do is remind yourself that nothing really matters, we all have a time limit. Just enjoy it while you can. If you can't find connection in yourself, find connection everywhere else. You will always have the ground below you, someone beside you, and the hope of the end of the world, whether that comes as you leave this world or not.
And in the end?
You should find a damn good view.