Director- Sawada Yukihiro and Ishii Gakuryu.This feature-length film is based on a short film by Ishii that he made while still finishing his education.The film is filled with themes that still hold even in today's era. The film follows the protagonist as he resorts to drastic measures after witnessing several wrongful incidents.The film begins with a student committing suicide due to being overworked with studies. The teachers use his example to push students to study even harder. This shows how much the teachers value the mental health of the students and how much importance they put on the prestige of the school.The protagonist hates one of his teachers who teaches them maths as he belittles the students and punishes them for no reason. This makes the protagonist take drastic measures as he steals a shotgun and decides to kill that teacher.The film emphasizes the notion that there not existing a clean crime and that unforeseeable variables will hinder it. The protagonist tries his best to not kill or injure fellow students as he is only vengeful against the elders but even then few get injured due to circumstances.The principal of the school is one who thinks of the school's prestige over the lives of the students.The police are on the precautionary side as they want to reach the best-case scenario while the army is doing whatever it can to achieve its end goal.The mother of the protagonist is one who is more understanding but she believes he is acting out because they are poor and not because they put overbearing expectations on him. The dad is on the side of pride as he wants the protagonist to give himself up in the name of them being able to show their faces to the outside world.The film is a critique of the society that makes kids grow older too soon, the society that makes them dull due to all work and no play. It is meant to give us a look into the minds of students in such situations.The film also explores society's outlook remaining still the same even with such an incident when a person speaks in front of them in favor of running and exercising being necessary for the kids' development. When someone disagrees, the man resorts to violence thus showing how much he has developed with running as well as showing the mentality of the masses.The film also explores themes of people who rise from nowhere abruptly to speak in favor of their causes. For example, the men on trucks bearing flags.The film is overall a good watch with nothing stretching for too long for the most part. The running sequences were corny but the protagonist's scared face made them better.The film also hints at puberty's effects on the kids but it isn't drawn much.The ending with the parents of the protagonist saying how will he get a good job now as he is being dragged by the cops shows their mentality is no better than the rest.The principal saying that they can conduct school as normal tomorrow shows how much change the protagonist was able to bring.The fellow students who hated the teacher too but saying how will they get into a good college now that he is dead shows us how the kids are being molded into becoming the next generation of such parents.
Director- Sawada Yukihiro and Ishii Gakuryu.This feature-length film is based on a short film by Ishii that he made while still finishing his education.The film is filled with themes that still hold even in today's era. The film follows the protagonist as he resorts to drastic measures after witnessing several wrongful incidents.The film begins with a student committing suicide due to being overworked with studies. The teachers use his example to push students to study even harder. This shows how much the teachers value the mental health of the students and how much importance they put on the prestige of the school.The protagonist hates one of his teachers who teaches them maths as he belittles the students and punishes them for no reason. This makes the protagonist take drastic measures as he steals a shotgun and decides to kill that teacher.The film emphasizes the notion that there not existing a clean crime and that unforeseeable variables will hinder it. The protagonist tries his best to not kill or injure fellow students as he is only vengeful against the elders but even then few get injured due to circumstances.The principal of the school is one who thinks of the school's prestige over the lives of the students.The police are on the precautionary side as they want to reach the best-case scenario while the army is doing whatever it can to achieve its end goal.The mother of the protagonist is one who is more understanding but she believes he is acting out because they are poor and not because they put overbearing expectations on him. The dad is on the side of pride as he wants the protagonist to give himself up in the name of them being able to show their faces to the outside world.The film is a critique of the society that makes kids grow older too soon, the society that makes them dull due to all work and no play. It is meant to give us a look into the minds of students in such situations.The film also explores society's outlook remaining still the same even with such an incident when a person speaks in front of them in favor of running and exercising being necessary for the kids' development. When someone disagrees, the man resorts to violence thus showing how much he has developed with running as well as showing the mentality of the masses.The film also explores themes of people who rise from nowhere abruptly to speak in favor of their causes. For example, the men on trucks bearing flags.The film is overall a good watch with nothing stretching for too long for the most part. The running sequences were corny but the protagonist's scared face made them better.The film also hints at puberty's effects on the kids but it isn't drawn much.The ending with the parents of the protagonist saying how will he get a good job now as he is being dragged by the cops shows their mentality is no better than the rest.The principal saying that they can conduct school as normal tomorrow shows how much change the protagonist was able to bring.The fellow students who hated the teacher too but saying how will they get into a good college now that he is dead shows us how the kids are being molded into becoming the next generation of such parents.
