'Drifting Home (2022)' is an animated adventure that sees a group of elementary schoolers trapped inside an abandoned apartment block as it floats along a seemingly endless sea after a spout of torrential rain floods what seems like the whole world. Is it real? Is it a dream? Is it a poorly conceived allegory? Don't expect an answer to that, as the flick never even attempts to tackle its ambiguities. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but the way in which it's done leaves quite a bit to be desired. Of course, that's a relatively minor issue in the grand scheme of things. That's because the flick suffers from a much more destructive flaw: it's way too long. Marching past its anticipated ninety minute runtime and barrelling headfirst into triple digits, the piece unflinchingly stretches its relatively repetitive plot far past the pinnacle of its elasticity. There are about four different endings, each of which visualise the same central conflict in a slightly different way. The way in which its stubborn characters constantly regress away from the growth that's often within their reach is rather interesting, but it happens once or twice too often to feel satisfying and actually seems a bit accidental when you consider the other pacing problems the piece has. It's worth mentioning that the characters are rather well-rounded and generally have an underlying complexity that's perhaps unanticipated. However, a few of them are certainly less developed than the others, acting more as filler than anything else. All of them are brash, immature kids who shout and scream and cry and kick off for no real reason, which is as realistic and believable as it is annoying and (potentially) off-putting. The animation does a good job of conveying the story, though there are some instances of really odd framing that seem to only exist as they do so that the animators can avoid doing lip-sync in a couple of scenes. Generally, it's a visually pleasing piece that eventually contrasts lots of colour and vibrancy with the tangibly gritty milieu of its decaying brutalist setting. It's not the most aesthetically astounding anime I've seen, but it's certainly well-achieved and keeps you engaged - visually, at least. The film makes obvious efforts to be emotionally moving but it ends up dealing in overblown melodrama more than considered poignancy. Its emotional elements definitely work on occasion, though, and they hint at a more powerful picture hidden somewhere within this one. Ultimately, this is a decent animated effort that struggles with a strained pacing but has some enjoyable moments sprinkled throughout its unfortunate two-hour runtime.
