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Angry Son (2023) Dir. Iizuka Kashou

This film, directed and written by Iizuka Kashou, is based on his own experiences as a transgender person. It is a coming-of-age story that follows a young man struggling with various difficulties since adolescence, and how he comes to encounter love through his relationships with his mother and boyfriend.

Living in Gunma Prefecture with his Filipina mother, the high school boy knows nothing about his biological father his only connection being the child support money transferred every month. The boy has a boyfriend of the same sex who wishes to form a legal partnership, but the boy's own background makes him feel inferior, preventing him from making a decision. One day, his mother brings home a boyfriend and tells him she wants to remarry. Unwilling to live with a stranger, the boy sets out to find his real father...

While some parts of the direction feel slightly overdone, the film is essentially a human drama between a mother and son, rooted in contemporary themes. Its strength lies in the strong social messages scattered throughout.

The film touches on multiple heavy issues in Japan: foreign laborers in Gunma Prefecture, prejudice against homosexuality among high school students, discrimination toward foreigners, and the challenges of single-mother households. And yet, it succeeds in functioning as a cohesive film, which I genuinely found impressive.

Review written by artist jayakumar jrain.