The Drifting Classroom

Absolutely insane that this movie begins with that kid groping his mom and then streaking nude through the house. All things considered, I can see why they had a fight on the way out.

I've read the comic and watched the other adaptation of the story, but that was a long time ago. I couldn't tell you what happens in them at this point! All I know is that the greatest director of all time is handling this one, and it's got an incredibly divisive reputation (infinitely more than the comic, or the other adaptation). A lot of people, I think, hate the acting, but I never had a problem with wooden acting, as long as the actors are used well. In this case, it's certainly a hard sell, but I think it ultimately works for me.

Anyways, I would be comically hypocritical to have Inland Empire in my top 4 and get mad at this movie for wooden acting.

Hey...Mark is a Little Fruity, huh? I wonder if Obayashi knew that a kid with a lisp might come off a little bit fruity. Everyone always catching his football and returning it to him is a pretty excellent bit, and I find him pretty sympathetic when he loses confidence in himself. He's a really interesting character because what holds him back from being a capable leader is his desire for a singular moment of glory ("his big game"), which he eventually finds for himself.

Those of you who follow my reviews regularly will know that I give a minimum half star bump for musical content that I like in films. In this case, it was a full star. I'm a huge fan of the immense tonal shifts that this movie has, and the music is a huge part of this. I have noticed that this is a big problem for many people, but have you considered that all your friends dying horrifically is actually the perfect time to sing a song so you don't kill yourself? And Obayashi, of course, would know, having been a child of war.

That initial disaster scene is amazing. No chance to absorb what's happened, just an absolute cataclysm. Then, the mysterious psychic phenomena, that woman spewing sand and dying, the weird noise the phone makes, public knowledge of time slips, the sudden connection between Shou and his mother which saves Shou's life, twisters that spit you into the mystic waters of time, where you might try to take a sip and be blasted into a corpse, and so on.

Yu's little buddy Ya is an all-timer weird little freak, chirping, dancing, pissing water on people to clean them.

There are some really incredible visuals in this. In particular, I loved the great diversity of ghostlike sand-blasted faces in this film.

I don't care much about consistency, but what I do care about is whether the peaks justify the valleys, and, for me, this doesn't remotely mean that there must be more peaks than valleys, it means that the peaks have to be high enough. And, yes, I did find the best moments of this film to be sublime. As always, Obayashi is a director who can do everything with nothing. Therefore, I loved this fucking thing.

Because of the theme of coexistence in the wake of a disastrous (apocalyptic for some) conflict, it was absolutely necessary to use international actors (as a symbol of coexistence between America and Japan). I don't think less of you if you didn't get it, but I think it's pretty obvious. What's less obvious is the thematic connection between water and time travel in one particular scene, which you'll also see in Obayashi's other time travel movie...I'm not unpacking any of that, but you could, if you wanted to.

"I will never forget that morning. I'll regret the things I said to my mother for the rest of my life."

alt. quote: "The dog understands English!"

alt. alt. quote: "Kids are always going someplace without telling adults." "Do you think...is that place far away?" "That place is somewhere beyond time. It could be very close. But it can't mix with our time." "Could they have gone back to the time of the dinosaurs? Does it have to be a scary time for them?" "Children go to the future. They always do. That's a basic rule of nature." "If I continued to stand here, could the time slip appear again? Could I go through it too? Would I go to the same place?" "We can't possibly go to the same time as children. They have taken the love from their parents, and they'll use it to create something greater. Ma'am, my son is there too." "A glimpse...I'd just like a glimpse of my son as an adult. That's all I want!"

alt. alt. alt. quote: "It's having a shampoo!"

Absolutely insane that this movie begins with that kid groping his mom and then streaking nude through the house. All things considered, I can see why they had a fight on the way out.

I've read the comic and watched the other adaptation of the story, but that was a long time ago. I couldn't tell you what happens in them at this point! All I know is that the greatest director of all time is handling this one, and it's got an incredibly divisive reputation (infinitely more than the comic, or the other adaptation). A lot of people, I think, hate the acting, but I never had a problem with wooden acting, as long as the actors are used well. In this case, it's certainly a hard sell, but I think it ultimately works for me.

Anyways, I would be comically hypocritical to have Inland Empire in my top 4 and get mad at this movie for wooden acting.

Hey...Mark is a Little Fruity, huh? I wonder if Obayashi knew that a kid with a lisp might come off a little bit fruity. Everyone always catching his football and returning it to him is a pretty excellent bit, and I find him pretty sympathetic when he loses confidence in himself. He's a really interesting character because what holds him back from being a capable leader is his desire for a singular moment of glory ("his big game"), which he eventually finds for himself.

Those of you who follow my reviews regularly will know that I give a minimum half star bump for musical content that I like in films. In this case, it was a full star. I'm a huge fan of the immense tonal shifts that this movie has, and the music is a huge part of this. I have noticed that this is a big problem for many people, but have you considered that all your friends dying horrifically is actually the perfect time to sing a song so you don't kill yourself? And Obayashi, of course, would know, having been a child of war.

That initial disaster scene is amazing. No chance to absorb what's happened, just an absolute cataclysm. Then, the mysterious psychic phenomena, that woman spewing sand and dying, the weird noise the phone makes, public knowledge of time slips, the sudden connection between Shou and his mother which saves Shou's life, twisters that spit you into the mystic waters of time, where you might try to take a sip and be blasted into a corpse, and so on.

Yu's little buddy Ya is an all-timer weird little freak, chirping, dancing, pissing water on people to clean them.

There are some really incredible visuals in this. In particular, I loved the great diversity of ghostlike sand-blasted faces in this film.

I don't care much about consistency, but what I do care about is whether the peaks justify the valleys, and, for me, this doesn't remotely mean that there must be more peaks than valleys, it means that the peaks have to be high enough. And, yes, I did find the best moments of this film to be sublime. As always, Obayashi is a director who can do everything with nothing. Therefore, I loved this fucking thing.

Because of the theme of coexistence in the wake of a disastrous (apocalyptic for some) conflict, it was absolutely necessary to use international actors (as a symbol of coexistence between America and Japan). I don't think less of you if you didn't get it, but I think it's pretty obvious. What's less obvious is the thematic connection between water and time travel in one particular scene, which you'll also see in Obayashi's other time travel movie...I'm not unpacking any of that, but you could, if you wanted to.

"I will never forget that morning. I'll regret the things I said to my mother for the rest of my life."

alt. quote: "The dog understands English!"

alt. alt. quote: "Kids are always going someplace without telling adults." "Do you think...is that place far away?" "That place is somewhere beyond time. It could be very close. But it can't mix with our time." "Could they have gone back to the time of the dinosaurs? Does it have to be a scary time for them?" "Children go to the future. They always do. That's a basic rule of nature." "If I continued to stand here, could the time slip appear again? Could I go through it too? Would I go to the same place?" "We can't possibly go to the same time as children. They have taken the love from their parents, and they'll use it to create something greater. Ma'am, my son is there too." "A glimpse...I'd just like a glimpse of my son as an adult. That's all I want!"

alt. alt. alt. quote: "It's having a shampoo!"

Spooktober #9
Better than it has any right to be. Removes some of the esoteric elements of the manga (no skyscraper ruins or telepathy here) while adding some truly ridiculous others (why is this sometimes a musical???). But distills some things I believe Kazuo Umezz was only cryptically hinting at. I took Drifting Classroom as some sort of fatalistic Hiroshima allegory. But the disconnect between parent and child, past and future here is more starkly insisted upon and more hopefully reimagined. Takes the ideas of Lee Edelman’s No Future — that we displace and even destroy the necessity for equality or justice in our time in place of the political cudgel of the featureless “child” — and gives them an after school special spin. I dig it.

Spooktober #9
Better than it has any right to be. Removes some of the esoteric elements of the manga (no skyscraper ruins or telepathy here) while adding some truly ridiculous others (why is this sometimes a musical???). But distills some things I believe Kazuo Umezz was only cryptically hinting at. I took Drifting Classroom as some sort of fatalistic Hiroshima allegory. But the disconnect between parent and child, past and future here is more starkly insisted upon and more hopefully reimagined. Takes the ideas of Lee Edelman’s No Future — that we displace and even destroy the necessity for equality or justice in our time in place of the political cudgel of the featureless “child” — and gives them an after school special spin. I dig it.

Spooktober #9
Better than it has any right to be. Removes some of the esoteric elements of the manga (no skyscraper ruins or telepathy here) while adding some truly ridiculous others (why is this sometimes a musical???). But distills some things I believe Kazuo Umezz was only cryptically hinting at. I took Drifting Classroom as some sort of fatalistic Hiroshima allegory. But the disconnect between parent and child, past and future here is more starkly insisted upon and more hopefully reimagined. Takes the ideas of Lee Edelman’s No Future — that we displace and even destroy the necessity for equality or justice in our time in place of the political cudgel of the featureless “child” — and gives them an after school special spin. I dig it.

Spooktober #9
Better than it has any right to be. Removes some of the esoteric elements of the manga (no skyscraper ruins or telepathy here) while adding some truly ridiculous others (why is this sometimes a musical???). But distills some things I believe Kazuo Umezz was only cryptically hinting at. I took Drifting Classroom as some sort of fatalistic Hiroshima allegory. But the disconnect between parent and child, past and future here is more starkly insisted upon and more hopefully reimagined. Takes the ideas of Lee Edelman’s No Future — that we displace and even destroy the necessity for equality or justice in our time in place of the political cudgel of the featureless “child” — and gives them an after school special spin. I dig it.

The Magic Schoolbus meets Solaris, with dashes of David Lynch's Dune and... Mac and Me??

Of the Obayashi movies I've seen thus far, this is the only one that stands toe to toe with Hausu in terms of committing to sheer balls to the wall madness (both visually and narratively) for its entire runtime.

Some remarkable images that only Obayashi could think were comprehensible. The surprisingly harsh violence that punctuates some scenes is so weirdly effective when paired with Hisaishi's typically lovely and whimsical score. A bewildering but captivating ride.

The Magic Schoolbus meets Solaris, with dashes of David Lynch's Dune and... Mac and Me??

Of the Obayashi movies I've seen thus far, this is the only one that stands toe to toe with Hausu in terms of committing to sheer balls to the wall madness (both visually and narratively) for its entire runtime.

Some remarkable images that only Obayashi could think were comprehensible. The surprisingly harsh violence that punctuates some scenes is so weirdly effective when paired with Hisaishi's typically lovely and whimsical score. A bewildering but captivating ride.

WTF was this piggybank for? 😭 It's so random

WTF was this piggybank for? 😭 It's so random