Synopsis: Shun Nakahara directs this supernatural fantasy about a second chance at life penned by veteran director Yoshimitsu Morita. The film centers on Makoto (Koki Tanaka) a would-be teenaged suicide who is brought back to life when the spirit of another dead lad enters his body. This new lease on life comes with strings attached, though; Makoto needs to fix the greatest mistake of his past life. While the old Makoto was withdrawn and geeky, the revived version is outgoing and chipper. He is much more interested in exploring the world around him than meeting his ultimatum. He quickly learns that his family is adrift and utterly bored. The father (Sakae Takita) is a former volleyball star whose career was derailed after a bribery scandal. Now his former passion is felt fleetingly while coaching a volleyball team for housewives. His mother (Sawako Agawa) flirts with a hunky foreign English teacher. While time ticks away, he starts obsessing over his beautiful, yet aloof, classmate Hiroka (Asuka Komayu). Will Makoto be able to atone for his past sins in time?
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Karafuru 8.25

Until tonight, I had very little knowledge of this film. Only this morning did I read up on it and, quite frankly, there wasn’t much to go on. I had to dig up a commentary from an IMDB user to get a sense of what to expect.

I’m glad I took the time, though, otherwise I may have missed this terrific film in my general ambivalence of late.

So what is this film about? It’s about a soul that is given another chance at life by inhabiting the body of a young boy who has just committed suicide. In so doing, this soul has to, not only figure out what brought him there (because, of course, he is not told anything about his past life), but also needs to learn to adjust to this boy’s life and difficult relationships.

Honestly, I haven’t watched a life-affirming film like this one in ages. I can’t remember the last time it was that I walked out feeling better about my own place in the world and having a better perspective on things after watching a movie, but this one did the trick; I left with a smile on my face and general sense of contentment.

It’s not especially life-changing, mind you, but it does manage to help one reconsider a lot of the little things that we may push aside or take for granted in our lives. All this in the context of an animated film? I must say that I’m rather impressed. It’s not something that Hollywood would do, that’s for sure!

Of course, it’s not always subtle, but it most certainly is by Hollywood standards: it deals with emotions in a relatively realistic way and, while it tries to bring our characters forward to more peaceful and fulfilling paths, it doesn’t do so in a fashion that makes you want to gag; it slowly brings them to realizations instead of making a big show of it.

In fact, unlike its American brethren, the film doesn’t really conclude on a distinctly upbeat note. While we get a sense that things are on an upswing, our characters don’t walk off in the sunset singing and dancing. That’s something that we don’t always see here, and I love it when I do. It’s more realistic and honest – it’s not sitcom-y or too formulaic.

And it’s the only way that it can tackle the subjects that it delves into, quite frankly. If one were to gloss over or sensationalize touchy topics like suicide, bullying and teenage prostitution, one wouldn’t be moved by our characters’ plights and it wouldn’t hit home with any credibility. The way they brought these things up, matter-of-factly, made it real.

My only issues with the film are the choppy beginning and the slightly semi-sweet ending. I simply ADORED the 98% in the middle, but I felt that the film started off like a pony trying to get on his legs for the first time; it was awkward and unconvincing. As for the ending… well, it was okay. But I would have ended it about three minutes earlier – even if it didn’t resolve a key matter in the story. It seemed as though they were trying to put a bow on top, and it felt out of place.

Another thing that bothered me was the animation. The backgrounds are terrific; they were absolutely lovely. But the main animation is too simplistic for my tastes. For one, the motion isn’t always accurate, which made me wonder about the director’s attention to detail. And yet, there were all these amazing little touches like smudges on the palms of an artist, steam escaping the mouth of someone eating something hot outside, …etc. So maybe it was a stylistic choice? But I couldn’t get beyond it.

Anyway, all this to say that I’d highly recommend this film to fans of animated films, but also to people who like substance in their cinema, who enjoy a good story and fleshed out characters. I would have especially liked to have a discussion about the film afterwards; I think that there would be a lot to be said and some fascinating opinions and insights would come out of it. Maybe someday.