Bright Future

Kiyoshi Kurosawa is becoming one of my favorite current filmmakers, and the further he gets from by-the-book J-horror (preferring to reach further into less categorizable reaches of his own cinematic imagination), the better I think he is.Deeper meanings mingle with absurdist humor, and the kind of chance occurrences that enliven the fiction of Paul Auster and Haruki Murakami also figure heavily in Kurosawa's films; cinematically, everything from Lynch or Fellini to "Dirty Harry" can be a touchstone for further exploration.BRIGHT FUTURE is like an improved CHARISMA - more refined, less loony, and considerably more poetic, but Kiyoshi Kurosawa's many thematic concerns - trashing of the environment, a sense of depersonalization (and discreet nihilism) in younger/future generations, the erosion of a society's cohesiveness (especially when that erosion originates within, and not from some external source) - are handled very well - the last shot offers his darkest and most ironic humor, with the cross-generational understanding becoming something quietly heroic evoking certain past masters of Japanese film. A sense that - if younger generations have drifted towards a nihilism that could destroy them or you, it is balanced by an equally withering take on the older generations that somehow let them down; this film in many ways visualizes the idea of getting over it, and moving on with life (after presenting some of the consequences for not doing so).Tadanobu Asano's presence here is somewhat hyped (definitely on the DVD cover), undoubtedly due to his ascendant global stardom, but his performance here is eclipsed by co-stars Joe Odagiri and Tatsuya Fuji, who both deliver dynamic performances of great range and control.Mysterious, poetic, beautifully shot (on DV), open to many interpretations, and one of Kiyoshi Kurosawa's finest.-David Alston

Having lived in Japan, I connected with this film immmediately. I would say that this type of Japanese filmmaking is a lot like the soaps that air on Japanese television. No incredible lighting effects, excessive props or music scores. The camera basically sits their and shows people and what they do. That's about it. I highly doubt anyone who is not Japanese or does not have an idea about what Japanese culture is like will like this film. I'm not going to go on like some people and talk about the "artistic value" of the film. The film is what it is, a story about a couple of guys who try to get a jellyfish to swim in fresh water.

Kurosawa shows the inner struggle of young men and a conflict between the young and the old. This film reflects the modern Japanese society's revealed but not dealt problems. Symbolization and metaphors are poetic, cruel, and straightforward. It is worth watching to learn about the postmodern generation.

Great movie for the foriegn film scifi/horror enthusiest.

Many viewers look at Bright Future and throw up their hands inconfusion, even those who admire Kurosawa's style. I've thought a lotabout this movie and I don't think its intentions are that obscure,though I confess it can be inaccessible. It's just that Kurosawa'sapproach is VERY contrary to how Westerners understand film.Bright Future examines the disillusionment of Japanese youth towardstheir parents' generation, and, in turn, their parents' feelings offailure towards their children. Throughout, a poisonous red jellyfishsymbolizes disaffected youth, drifting along silently, not threateningunless you cross their path.Namura and Arita are two 20-somethings working at an industriallaundry. Namura is apathy itself. He cherishes his dreams of a "brightfuture," but in his daily life, he barely registers much more than ablank stare. He's such a loser he even sucks at his few hobbies; theone time he goes out to an arcade with his upwardly-mobile sister andher yuppie boyfriend, the boyfriend casually kicks Namura's ass atgames Namura plays constantly. On his lone trips to a nearby bowlingalley, Namura rolls mostly gutters.Arita, Namura's only friend, is more mysterious, with a placid surfaceunderneath which lurks hints of menace. Arita's sole hobby is the careof his pet jellyfish, which he is trying to acclimate to fresh water.Arita gives the clueless Namura hand signals (thumb inward means"wait," finger pointing means "go ahead") so he'll avoid doing anything"crazy." Namura isn't sure what to make of this, but we get hints Aritais more in tune with prevailing moods. "There's a storm coming," hesays ominously.The boys' boss at the laundry lamely attempts to court theirfriendship, borrowing a CD from Namura and popping up uninvited atArita's apartment. There he goes into a pathetic speech about "When Iwas your age...", but loses his train of thought and gets caught upwatching cable. Namura and Arita view this middle-aged boy-man withbarely concealed contempt; you can tell they're thinking, "God, is thiswhat I have to look forward to when I'm 55?" When the boss sticks hisfingers in the jellyfish tank, Arita stops Namura from warning himabout the poison.The boss, when he learns what could have happened, confronts Arita, whoquits his job the next day. The boss remains friendly to Namura,throwing the socially inept young man into further confusion. Thatnight, Namura angrily goes to the boss's house to get his CD, only tofind Arita has been there earlier and murdered the man and his wife.Arita is arrested but makes no particular attempt at a defense. Injail, he cordially (but not warmly) greets his estranged father, andonly wants to talk about his jellyfish to Namura, in whom he hasentrusted its care. But when Namura, in a rare emotional outburst,declares he will "wait 20 years" for Arita's release, Arita coldlysnubs him. Now even more bereft and confused, Namura angrily smashesthe jellyfish tank, inadvertently releasing it into the city canals.Not long after, Arita hangs himself in his cell, his hand wired intothe "go ahead" signal. Namura regrets his rashness, and is overjoyed tofind the jellyfish still alive. He also strikes up a bond with Arita'sfather, who makes a meager living salvaging discarded appliances (ametaphor for pointlessly hanging onto the past). The father, who hadn'tseen Arita for 5 years before the murders, and who is held in suchdisdain by his one other son that the boy has taken his mother's lastname, sees in Namura the chance for a real father-son relationship.I've concluded that we're supposed to see Arita and Namura as twodifferent incarnations of the same person. This interpretation would beconsistent with Kurosawa's follow-up, Doppelgänger, whose heroconfronts an arrogant and violent duplicate of himself. Bright Future'sscript hints that Kurosawa may have intended this:At one point Namura says he thinks Arita killed the boss "before Icould do it"; indeed, right before Namura goes to the house, we see himgrab a metal pipe off the street and swing it in wild unfocused rage.In another scene, we see Arita's ghost(?) watching his father andNamura. Also, the way Arita's father cherishes his bond with Namura; areconciliation after an argument they have plays like the father isreally forgiving Arita and his other son for abandoning him (especiallythe father's line "I forgive all of you for everything"). Finally,Arita's rejection of Namura when Namura declares he'll wait for him inprison; if Arita is really Namura's "evil doppelgänger," then therejection makes good thematic sense. It's Arita's way of saying, "Youidiot, don't you know that as long as you hang onto me, you'll alwaysbe a loser?"So is Arita the violent, acting-out side of Namura's personality madeflesh, who, once he commits the crime Namura fantasizes about, feelsit's time to give Namura the "go ahead" signal and bow out? Anintriguing possibility, and one certainly in keeping with Kurosawa'smagical realist approach.The final scenes, in which Namura - saying "I got my go-ahead signallong ago" - finally decides to stop drifting aimlessly (like thejellyfish in the tank) and set himself towards the "bright future" heused to dream of (like the loose jellyfish, now "escaping" from Tokyoand drifting toward the sea), brings the movie's theme full circle. Theclimactic shot of hordes of glowing jellyfish floating down a canal isa truly stunning image. (And one thematically underscored by itsjuxtaposition with the very last shot, of a gang of kids Namura brieflyfalls in with, drifting aimlessly down the sidewalk to nowhere inparticular.) The title turns out to be not ironic at all. The young canhave a bright future, but sometimes, you have to know when to wait, andwhen to go ahead.