Himeanôru

"Himeanole" is one of the most awkward movies I have ever seen, one that jumps from funny, hilarious, to dark, disturbing and creepy all through its running time, sometimes even in the same scene.

It even starts that way, with Gaku Hamada's Okada discovering that his co-worker, Ando, is infatuated with waitress Yuka, who seems to be also drawing the attention of a 'yanki' ( a Japanese slang word that is used to describe young men with not much to do and that look shady, and delinquent-looking), who surprisingly enough is Okada's old classmate Morita. From that moment we get strange moment after strange moment, Ando pressuring Okada to discover if Yuka has a boyfriend, and Yuka being scared because it seems Morita has been stalking her. All the while Okada and Yuka become friends. It sounds weird, and we get lots of awkward moments, as Ando stalks Okada and Yuka, people behave very strangely, and all around creepy situations.

But that is only the beginning of the story, and kudos to everyone involved for making the film navigate through its very different and varied tones without losing its cohesion and the viewer's interest. The movie is full of surprising moments and twists, the acting is good, the direction secured and everyone gets interesting and twisted character developments. It is a very interesting look into the human psyche, the plot giving a lot of time to the reasons behind every character's action or belief. It offers a very dark view of humanity in some moments, but at some others a very touching one, and it is thoughtful all through.

"Himeanole" is as strange as they come, but it is a movie with its heart in the right place, and that offers a palette of colors, instead of staying in dichotomies. Surprising and totally worth your time.