Himizu

A Japanese film. Sumida is a high school student. His family runs a boat hire business; his father has disappeared and his mother leaves as well. The boy is left alone and all he wants is an ordinary life. Beside the boathouse are people living in tents. They lost everything in an earthquake and a tsunami. Keiko is in his class. She is fixed on him; she writes down what he says in a notebook and will not leave him alone. Things are bad in her house too. The father comes back and asks for money. He is in debt, he is being threatened and he blames his son. From there the film shows Sumida coming apart. The boy makes a decision: he will punish bad people, and goes out into the street for it. The background is real: the film was made just after the earthquake of 2011 and shot in the destroyed areas. The script was changed after the disaster and images of the wreckage went into the film. The source is Minoru Furuya's manga. Shota Sometani plays Sumida and Fumi Nikaido plays Keiko. The two shared the prize for a young performer at the Venice Film Festival. Sion Sono directed. A strong production for anyone who likes contemporary Japanese cinema and hard narratives. Before you watch, know this: the film enters violence, abuse within the family and suicide directly.