‘Happyend’: “A Story About The Near Future”

‘Happyend’ (Neo Sora, 2024); Image courtesy of Modern Films 

Neo Sora’s feature film Happyend was one that I had anticipated with excitement. The film's description: “A near-future city in Japan awaits destruction as it is rocked by a series of foreshocks that predict a larger, more disastrous quake on the horizon. With the anxiety looming over them, a group of teenage best friends and musicians get into typical teenager trouble that tests the strength of their relationships”. This felt like it would be right up my alley, and to some extent it was; however, the film didn't manage to execute all it had hyped itself up to be. 

This coming of age story surrounds the lives of five high school students. They are rebellious, troublesome and ready to reject authority; one could say a canon event. Sora immerses us into his imagined version of a futuristic Japan and explores how the wider world interacts with adolescence and teenagehood. He tackles class and racial issues which seem prevalent in Japan, but are often ignored - and I believe he challenges the Eurocentric view of Japan whilst also critiquing the world he grew up in. The historical amnesia towards Japan’s colonial past is certainly a present critique as he highlights how Japan treats its former colonial citizens, which we see through the character of ‘Kou’ (played by Yokito Hidaka). This character's struggles involve his citizenship issues, which cause him to be silenced and vulnerable to having his status revoked. I felt an immense amount of sympathy for ‘Kou’ because he states that his family “have been here for four generations”. Sora brilliantly displayed the immigrant experience here: despite having a history in Japan and knowing nothing but it, you are not considered Japanese. There are many moments where this issue is shown, but the one which stuck with me the most was this shocking, yet pivotal moment when the high school had brought a military officer into the school to try and get students to enrol and they removed the non-natives from the classroom. This is a fantastic display of how the colonial mindset never leaves the dominant power. It will continue to colonise in micro-aggressions hence, this film is absolutely necessary!   

Despite the film's incredible story, its execution is why I left the screening slightly disappointed. The film runs for nearly 2 hours -  and it feels like we are seeing different shots compiled together without smooth transitions for that structural and visual harmony I’d hoped to see. I am unsure whether that is intentional or not but I personally didn't enjoy it, especially when scenes felt longer than they needed to be. I found myself hoping the next scene would be the last which pains me to say because this film could've been so good! The potential is there and I wish it had lived up to that. 

Whilst the technical pragmatisms weren't to my tastes, I did enjoy the film's outspoken and challenging dialogue. Sora’s use of teenagers being the voice of the film, I felt, emphasised his message. He wants to challenge a future which exists in an authoritarian state, endorsing xenophobia and class oppression. If I'm being honest, it's highly impressive. His main character duo ‘Yuta’ (played by Hayato Kurihara)  and ‘Kou’ are the antithesis of each other in terms of social class and race, yet they are childhood friends. We are taken on their journeys of existing in this world. ‘Kou’ is the working class, Korean-Japanese youth who begins to question the authority around him. ‘Yuta’ is the upper-middle class Japanese youth who seeks answers in techno music. Their bond is clearly challenged the more ‘Kou’ questions his social reality, to the point where he says “if we hadn't met as kids, would we still even be friends?” (paraphrased). This question felt so heavy. At surface level, it seems like a friend questioning his friendship but on a much deeper level, I interpreted this question as ‘Kou’ questioning if childhood and that life stage are truly the most uncorrupted years, free of social pressures. There is much to dissect about Sora’s narrative choices and for that I do appreciate this film. 

The film's synopsis talks about a ‘disastrous quake on the horizon’ however, the earthquake didn't feel as central to the plot as it was made out to be. I was expecting more urgency in the characters, especially when the earthquake directly correlated to the rise of an authoritarian government and militant action. The scenes in which the earthquake was featured didn't exactly reflect what I think Sora was hoping to achieve. Japan is known for its earthquakes which didn’t make this natural disaster feel out of the blue, however, this being an imagined future world, I feel like there could've been more to it. I don't think this film needed to be advertised as the ‘near future’ because it seems to be present day: the rise of fascism and dictatorships already exists today. But I will say, the film does get you to discuss and question your social reality and I think that’s important. Movies are media we consume all the time. Their prominent social and cultural commentary within the narrative is therefore incredibly important. It explains why blockbusters like the Matrix are so revered 26 years on. I do believe this film could do that but some of its stylistic choices feel unfinished. 

In order to review this movie properly, we must discuss the role of music. The first scene explores ‘Kou’ and ‘Yuta’ illegally entering an underground club where the DJ, real life Yousuke Yukimastu, is playing Techno music. Techno music emerged in the late 70s/ early 80s in order to break free. This genre of music is inherently about freedom and retaliating against the binaries placed upon oneself. Sora’s inclusion of this is no mistake, it adds an extra layer to his activism as he doesn’t limit his expressions of how one should express social freedoms. I think this musical arc is one of my favourite themes in the film because it demonstrates how this director shows us that activism can take many forms and that everything is political, whether we know it or not. In retrospect, the complexities of Happyend become clearer, making it more enjoyable. This isn't an easy film to understand; it requires one to sit with it and really reflect upon its message.       

Neo Sora has incredible creative vision and uses his platform in order to fight against authoritarianism and other forms of fascist governments. Happyend dedicates itself to fighting oppression through the lives of teenagers, the future generation - something I think is necessary in a time when the youth are politically vulnerable to right-wing pipelines. I enjoyed the story and the exploration of two completely different male characters. It was a refreshing contrast to see being explored. Aside from the story itself, the film's soundtrack is a 10/10. It had me tearing up, it was so beautiful. I think maybe the way Sora directed the film isn't exactly how I like films to be and that's okay but I do find that it almost removes you from the film in some ways. In my Letterboxd rating I said 3.5 and I would still stick with that now, but this is an incredible story and I do believe you should at least see it once!

Happyend will have its UK release on the 19th of September.

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Edited by Hannah Tang, Co-Editor of Film & TV