Himizu - DVD

Film: Tokyo, after the great tsunami: everywhere in the metropolis people have to struggle with the consequences of the disaster. So also the 14-year-old Yuichi (Shota Sometani), who is neglected by his parents and has to take care on his own that the small boat rental of the family brings a little money into the household. Around the boat rental shop a few people have settled who became homeless because of the tsunami, and they become a kind of substitute family for Yuichi. And his classmate Keiko (Fumi Nikaidou), who has adored Yuichi for a long time, would also like to take care of the boy. But the boy is a loner who doesn't want to take the help of other people. With his apathetic mother who simply disappears with a wealthy man, his violent father who keeps telling him that life is better without him, and finally the disaster that has rocked his country, Yuichi has completely given up faith in the good and hope for a better future. Then, when his father falls into debt with the gangster Kaneko (Denden) and Yuichi is made to answer for it, the darkness threatens to swallow the boy for good...

Himizu is a gritty drama that uses primarily bleak imagery to create a bleak, almost post-apocalyptic world in which a boy doesn't have much left to expect from life, even though it has really just begun for him. Yuichi wants nothing more than to earn enough money to be neither really happy, nor totally miserable. He doesn't want to stand out, wants to hole up in his own little world. He wants to be a Himizu - a mole - the most. Yuichi can't see that there are small glimmers of hope around him after all, because of his parents' behavior. After his mother leaves him and his father beats and humiliates him again and again, the boy just can't believe in the good anymore.

Through this initial situation, director Sion Sono's adaptation of Minoru Furuya's manga runs the risk of dragging the viewer down too much and bludgeoning him with the disturbing heaviness of the story. But he counteracts this by letting little glimmers of hope shine through the dreariness again and again. For instance, there is the small community that has formed around the boat rental. Although these people have lost everything and from now on have to live in small, provisional huts made of plastic sheets, they stick together in the face of adversity and still show a certain joy in life. And also Keiko tries again and again to free Yuichi from his dark emptiness with her seemingly boundless optimism.

The sometimes a bit overdone acting of the actors and the not exactly subtly presented hysteria are sometimes a bit exhausting, which makes the film a bit unwieldy here and there - at least for viewers who are not quite so familiar with Asian cinema. But overall, Himizu is an extremely strong, profound and stirring film that hides a mesmerizing beauty underneath its dramaturgical heaviness that is hard to resist. Not an easy film to enjoy (especially since the film can only be viewed in the original Japanese with German subtitles), but definitely one worth watching. Worth seeing!

Image + Sound: The DVD's clean image has an atmospheric color scheme and decent overall sharpness, though there are small weaknesses in contrast and detail here and there in the numerous darker scenes. The audio, which is only available in the original Japanese, is largely restrained in its mixing. In addition to the restrained music and centrally mixed dialogue, there are a few minor sound effects through which the surround channels also get a bit of use. Good!

Extras: As a bonus, the DVD has, in addition to the trailer, a very detailed making of to offer, which offers a very comprehensive look behind the scenes in just under 73 minutes, whereby the promo character is pleasantly limited. To the documentary can be optionally switched German subtitles.

Conclusion: Himizu is a very dark drama with almost apocalyptic features, but in all its darkness at the end also leaves room for a glimmer of hope. The sometimes overly hysterical acting of some of the actors and the fact that the film is only available in the original Japanese version in Germany make the film adaptation of the manga by Minoru Furuya accessible to a rather small target audience. But they get a very intense film on a good DVD, which also has a very worth seeing making of. Recommended

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp