BURN

I’m still trying to wrap my head around this film. This is perhaps the bleakest film I have ever seen despite being wrapped up in its candy-coated visuals and tone. The craft is undeniable. There are some visuals, cinematography, editing choices, CGI sequences that are so creative and captivating that I’ve never seen before. This might be the closest I’ve ever seen a live action film embody the spirit of an anime and I certainly don’t mean that pejoratively.

This film follows a sort of subculture in Japanese society of “street kids” who have run away from home and live on the street in the biggest red light district in Tokyo. In his post-screening Q&A, director Makoto Nagahisa states “When you see news reports about these street children, the media always portrays them as being dangerously crazy but I didn’t see any of that. I saw kindness and I saw pain… so if you’re ever in Tokyo around Shinjuku and see all of those bright neon signs, I just want you to remember that behind all this brightness and glitter, these children actually do exist.” That sentiment really shines through in this movie and is so heartbreaking and so beautiful and something I won’t be able to stop thinking about.

Sundance Feature Film #5

I’m still trying to wrap my head around this film. This is perhaps the bleakest film I have ever seen despite being wrapped up in its candy-coated visuals and tone. The craft is undeniable. There are some visuals, cinematography, editing choices, CGI sequences that are so creative and captivating that I’ve never seen before. This might be the closest I’ve ever seen a live action film embody the spirit of an anime and I certainly don’t mean that pejoratively.

This film follows a sort of subculture in Japanese society of “street kids” who have run away from home and live on the street in the biggest red light district in Tokyo. In his post-screening Q&A, director Makoto Nagahisa states “When you see news reports about these street children, the media always portrays them as being dangerously crazy but I didn’t see any of that. I saw kindness and I saw pain… so if you’re ever in Tokyo around Shinjuku and see all of those bright neon signs, I just want you to remember that behind all this brightness and glitter, these children actually do exist.” That sentiment really shines through in this movie and is so heartbreaking and so beautiful and something I won’t be able to stop thinking about.

Sundance Feature Film #5

Chekov's dildo

Chekov's dildo

Who knew that’s what the blue milk from Star Wars does to you…

Who knew that’s what the blue milk from Star Wars does to you…

Sundance Online #5

Completely singular. One of the most stylistic films I’ve ever seen, and somehow it really works. It feels like a fever dream: disorienting, overwhelming, and packed with so much to unpack. It’s an honest, unsettling look at how loneliness and pain shape someone, especially in youth. It captures how community can form out of desperation, shared grief, and self-destruction. It’s deeply cynical, but that cynicism feels true to the reality many young people are living in, just trying to get by. Bitter, but beautiful. I loved this. Truly one of a kind.

Sundance Online #5

Completely singular. One of the most stylistic films I’ve ever seen, and somehow it really works. It feels like a fever dream: disorienting, overwhelming, and packed with so much to unpack. It’s an honest, unsettling look at how loneliness and pain shape someone, especially in youth. It captures how community can form out of desperation, shared grief, and self-destruction. It’s deeply cynical, but that cynicism feels true to the reality many young people are living in, just trying to get by. Bitter, but beautiful. I loved this. Truly one of a kind.