Harmful Insect

Akihiko Shiota's film follows Sachiko, thirteen. Her father has left home, her mother has attempted suicide and the teacher she relied on has been transferred to another city. Rumours circulating about her at school leave her increasingly alone. The film does not try to explain adolescent crisis. Why Sachiko stops attending school, why she spends time with older people and what is going through her mind are never stated in any scene. The narrative stays at the level of observation and leaves the viewer alone with their own inference. Aoi Miyazaki was very young in the role and her performance rests almost entirely on facial expression. The cinematography is cold: static shots, grey spaces, long silences. The film is among the harshest accounts of adolescence in Japanese cinema. Who it's for: those able to watch slow, observational Japanese drama. Who it's not for: viewers who need to avoid suicide, abuse of a minor and self-harm; the film approaches all of these openly.