Review by Cameron Maitland

When you go into a film from another culture and another country, there’s nothing more disheartening than the frequency with which you find cookie cutter Hollywood films can come from anywhere. Thankfully there are still films like Yokohama Satoko’s German + Rain that are so unique that they seem almost from another world, let alone another country.

While the plot is too faceted to summarize, the general action follows anti-social 16-year-old Yoshiko and her attempts to make a life for herself when the rest of the world abandons her. What could have been a heart-warming tale is turned on its head when the put-upon Yoshiko ends up being more dark hearted, bilious and strange than any of the roadblocks put in her way. Yoshiko is a social misfit in an eccentrically violent and surreal way, her life a sort of Lynchian Welcome to the Dollhouse and the rest of the world, like the audience can’t help but sit by and watch as she tears around like a force of nature.

If that cinematic comparison seems hard to comprehend, don’t worry, it definitely is. Though the film will have you constantly engaged, it will just as frequently have you scratching your head. It’s hard to know when to laugh and when to cringe but, when you know, you definitely feel it and that’s where most of the fun of the piece lays.

German + Rain is bound to divide audiences with its multitudinous interpretations and wild plot but it is definitely a breath of fresh air from a unique and interesting director.

Germain + Rain
Yokohama Satoko | Japan | 2007 | 71min

Sun. Sept. 28 | 9:45pm | Vancity Theatre
Mon. Sept. 29 | 1:15pm | Vancity Theatre