Neo Sora’s Happyend is a captivating fictional feature debut centering on two high school friends navigating life, identity, and politics in a dystopian, near-future Japan. Against the ominous backdrop of increased government surveillance and impending earthquakes, Yuta (Hayato Kurihara) and Kou (Yukito Hidaka) must confront their values and beliefs in a society on the brink of change. Happyend follows Sora’s work on Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus, a concert film about his late father, and further demonstrates Sora’s promise as a director.
Right away, Happyend commands attention with a bold announcement that it is set in “the near future”, accompanied by blasting music which evokes Akira. This movie, too, centers on a band of rowdy Tokyo teens. Yuta and Kou are ringleaders of a friend group which appreciates underground music, and take advantage of all their high school music room has to offer. However, after a prank against the principal’s car, their high school institutes a draconian surveillance system that encroaches upon Yuta, Kou, and their friends’ teenage rambunctiousness. Meanwhile, repeated earthquake reports trigger on the students’ phones, creating an aura of crisis that goes far beyond their school.
It may all seem complicated, but Sora perfectly weaves all these plot points alongside themes of identity, friendship, and political awareness in a manner that feels empathetic rather than preachy. Happyend includes nods to a litany of issues that youth in Japan and beyond face— declining birthrates, weakening economic growth, xenophobia even amidst labor shortages, and so forth. These references are often humorous, for instance in some of the characters’ commentary of the high school’s surveillance system, or visually poignant, for example in one scene where Yuta and Kota metaphorically embody the burdens of youth whilst pushing a woofer through Tokyo’s streets.
Characterization and casting also help Happyend increase the empathy of its social critiques. Kou is a Zainichi Korean, whose relative “foreignness” puts his friendship with Yuta to the test in certain key moments. Other members of Kou and Yuta’s friend group—like the Taiwanese Ming (Shina Peng) and the American Tom (Arazi)—represent those who don’t fit in with stereotypes of Japan being a homogenous society. Sora chooses to cast each of these characters with actors of the relevant ethnic background (both Kou and his mother are played by Zainichi Korean actors, for example), and most of Happyend’s actors have little formal acting experience; all this adds more authenticity to the film’s performances. Regardless of their ethnicity though, each of Happyend’s diverse characters must face the vagaries of Japan’s uncertain future together, and in the process help audiences ponder what it means to be “Japanese” in real life.
Despite its rather serious-sounding themes, Happyend is not all melancholic. The movie contains moments of laughter amidst its dystopian vibe, providing a haunting contrast of joy and melancholy. Perhaps that’s just the right tone to reflect on what the future holds.
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Happyend—Japan. Dialog in Japanese. Directed by Neo Sora. First released September 2, 2024 at the 81st Venice International Film Festival. Running time 1hr 53 mins. Starring Hayato Kurihara, Yukito Hidaka, Yuta Hayashi, Shina Peng, Arazi, Kilala Inori, Pushim, Ayumu Nakajima, Makiko Watanabe, Shirō Sano.