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VIFF 2009 | Where Are You
By VIFF Correspondent Desiree LealWhere Are You
Japan, 2009, 104min
DIR: Kobayashi Masahiro
If it was the filmmaker's wish to inflict the same sense of helplessness and desperation on his audience that is experienced by his protagonist Ryo, he succeeded. Where Are You is a film that makes you feel trapped as scene after painful scene unfolds in the same steady slow manner as we witness the unraveling of Ryo's life.
Long, drawn out shots of stark solitary moments highlight the psychological space of a boy as he loses everything and goes in search of the one thing he might still have left--the father who abandoned the family long ago. The real search, however, is for Ryo himself. Who will he be now that he has no one to guide him and his dreams are shattered? As Ryo is pushed further into a life of crime, going against his own nature, we see a society that flatly and un-compassionately continues to make demands of him that are unreasonable and unfair with no regard for his desperate situation. This begs the question, who are the real criminals? Hard to watch, but beautifully shot Where Are You is a quiet indictment of a society that demands responsibility without taking any.
Upcoming Screenings:
Tues. Oct. 13, 2:10pm, Empire Granville
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October 9, 2009 at 9:21 PM
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