Director: Takahiro Omori
Year: 2011
Genre: Romance/Mystery
Recommended by a friend of mine, and I must say, it's a film which I would've done a review about. But I guess it's better late than never.
It's about a Hotaru, a young girl, who meets this spirit in the forest named Gin, and the pair of them become good friends. When they meet each other, she's amazed by the mask that Gin always wears. The film focuses on Hotaru from a young girl into an older version of herself. From a young age, they became closer than ever.
When watching this film first, I thought it was one of them films where it was just one of those typical films where the film was one of them friendships films but I was quite wrong. Then again, never judge a movie by its cover.
This film builds an emotional bond when watching the film, especially when discovering Gin's upbringing when he was abandoned by his parents in the wild and was raised by spirits. He was given a mask by the spirits and has worn it for the duration of the film. I feel that with his mask, he is covering up what has happened in the past and there were a few instances when Hotaru asked Gin to open up his mask. He eventually opened up to her and she was able to see his true face. Identity is the first word which came to my mind. Some people wear something to protect themselves from new people and could show how Gin's past is something of the past and he doesn't want it to reflect who he is.
Loneliness, as demonstrated by Gin, who was abandoned at a young age and when meeting Hotaru, he feels like he has someone whom he can trust and someone he can talk to. And not having the ability to have that human touch too. 'If human touches me, I die,' a quote from the film - and due to his spirit form, if a human were to touch him, his body would disappear. There are several moments in the film where Hotaru wants to hug Gin, but he's not allowed to.
I'm a sucker for films which are almost below an hour long, it's rare for a film to last that long. Being able to tell a story in that amount of time is no easy feat. It last for about 40 minutes and it feels like the film only needs 40 minutes. The way director focuses on how the two characters manage to build up a bond with each other and how they become friends for a long time.
Could it be an all-time favourite contender for me? It's a bit too soon for me to say; however, the way the story is told is one of the things I liked about this film. Why? Firstly, just seeing the character development of the pair of them how they became good friends, and how Hotaru, despite being a young age, was not fussed about Gin being a spirit.
Secondly, loneliness has a strong part to play in the film. Imagine being abandoned at a young age, and someone else takes care of you, it almost makes you feel sorry for Gin for not having that true friend by his side.
Lastly, the ability to tell a story in 40 minutes. I've watched films which lasted two hours but the film did not tell a good story despite that amount of time. These films, Summer Ghost and Garden of Words are some films which were under an hour long which I thoroughly enjoyed and it shows that you don't have two hours to tell a story. This film did a good job in just being clear and concise in telling the story and it makes the audience engaged in what happens next.
With that being said, if you are looking for a romance/mystery film to watch, this film would be it. Its simplicity, characters and message behind it are some of the reasons why it's my favourite.
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