paradise lost

Now I… (Ima, ga…) starts with 20 year old Suzuki Satoru who has graduated high school and now lives with his mother in their small apartment as a form of hikikomori. Although Satoru ventures out for lonely walks or for magazines, small items of food etc he otherwise stays in the house, sleeps, reads Manga and plays video games. Satoru has no friends and barely interacts with his mother, sometimes growing angry or even violent with her. Everything changes the day his mothers’ friend Tosawa comes round and informs him that she has arranged for Satoru to work with him. This sets in motion a whole series of events where Satoru is forced to learn to deal with what has kept him isolated all this time and everything else…

I had very high expectations of this film- with its unique premise and the reviews I read. I almost expected to be let down by how I had already judged it a masterpiece before watching. But no, Now I… did not let down.

The film is realistic and beautifully told. It’s is a gorgeous film that achieves a lot with so little. The film obviously has a low budget, is filmed simply with an equally sparse soundtrack yet it is one of the most powerful and moving things I have seen for a while. The storyline is so basic yet could so easily go wrong, but it never gets convoluted or ridiculous: it’s so real that it hurts. You are left feeling awkward for Satoru as he struggles to work or talk, left feeling sympathy for his mother as she breaks down etc. The actor who plays Satoru barely says anything yet conveys so much with his movements and facial expressions- and this is the same for the other actors who perform there parts so realistically you wouldn’t think they were acting. The simple camera movement almost helps to keep it real- it’s filmed in natural lighting with all the background noise not isolated in its own world. Overall, you feel like you are looking in someone’s real life- not watching a movie.

For those of you who feel isolated sometimes or often because of your different interests then the film becomes even more powerful, it’s easy to see yourself as Satoru who keeps to himself and pushes away other people. Yet because of the strong acting and the way it is filmed you can understand all the characters and somehow feel like you know them, even though you are never told much about them.

The only thing I dislike about the film is one scene which felt out of place and then the ending which I dislike for purely personal reasons; at the end of the day the main character has found someone who does and says all the rights things to help him out. In life it’s rarely like that. That is my own pet peeve though and really, I think that this film it works. The way Tosawa steps into Satoru’s life and changes it feels perfectly natural.

And that out of place scene mentioned is soon forgotten about when the film climaxes to it’s final conclusion. The ending was amazing, telling you just enough for it to be closed but also being open enough to leave you to imagine what happens for yourself. I found myself moved and almost in tears by the end. And it also made me think alot about myself and about…just things in general.  It’s not the sort of film that will be forgotten easily for sure.

Highly recommended!