Drowning Love

You chase a love object while they run away for their own reasons, you get exhausted, then you chase some more in despair, questioning if you're masochistic. I think it's a situation a lot of people can relate to, especially about their teens and early twenties, and this movie is the place to revisit the feeling. The main character talks at some point about thinking you can get everything when you're around fifteen and how you need something or someone to rock your world, if I didn't get the Japanese wrong, and it's all relatable.

There are two unlikeable main characters: The teen fashion model turned small town schoolgirl who needs action and the troubled, cocky local boy with bleached hair. The characters are interesting but you don't like them, which I think was intended. The story takes place in a town of great nature. A lot of scenes involve the sea and the forest and the characters interact with the nature while they try to capture each other, which I liked. Paired with the catchy soundtrack and the partly wordless communication between the leads, the movie does give a unique feeling. The second part revolves around an unfortunate thing that happens to the girl and how the boy reacts to it, and the movie has been criticized for handling how the adult characters react to that event, or the lack of their reaction, which I agree. However, this is a manga adaptation and that might have stemmed from the manga, not sure.

Overall, an interesting watch from Japan.