Run time: 113 mins

(Subtitled)

Rebellion and repression collide in Neo Sora’s electric debut.

In a near-future Japan bracing for a catastrophic earthquake, five disaffected schoolchildren pull a thoughtless prank on their headteacher that sparks an authoritarian crackdown and brings the full force of state surveillance to their small town. Among them are childhood friends Kou (Yukito Hidaka) and Yuta (Hayato Kurihara), whose bond begins to fracture as Kou, the son of Korean immigrants, grows more politically aware and painfully conscious of his outsider status.

Director Neo Sora renders this slow-burn dystopia with immaculate restraint, framing a society where protest is illegal, identity defines worth, and resistance is both a moral act and a personal risk. The film’s cool precision evokes a world in which empathy has been automated out of existence, while Sora’s visual intelligence (mirrored screens, reflections, clinical symmetry) slyly mocks the system’s obsession with order.

Performances are strong across the board, particularly from Inori, whose steady conviction anchors the film’s emotional pulse. Happyend might warn of catastrophe, but Sora’s vision hums with life, proof that even in a controlled world, small acts of defiance can feel vividly human.