The Kirishima Thing

Kirishima captains the school volleyball team, does well in class, and is dating one of the most popular girls. One day he does not come to school, and the rumour spreads that he has quit the club. Kirishima never appears on screen. The narrative turns around his absence: his teammates, his girlfriend, the sidelined members of the film club, everybody's place in the hierarchy shifts. Daihachi Yoshida adapted Ryo Asai's novel. He shows the same day again and again from different characters' vantages, and with each pass the school's invisible caste system comes into sharper focus. Popularity here is not a personality trait but a fragile position. The film opened on 11 August 2012 and won five awards at the 36th Japan Academy Prize: best picture, best director, best editing, and newcomer awards for Masahiro Higashide and Ai Hashimoto. Who it's for: Viewers who like Japanese high school drama, multi-perspective narratives, and films built on social hierarchy. Who it's not for: The central character never appearing and the plot never resolving will leave some viewers unsatisfied, and the repeating structure takes getting used to.