Toronto Japanese Fest 2017 Review: HIMEANOLE, A Violent Condemnation of Bullying And Inaction

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Toronto Japanese Fest 2017 Review: HIMEANOLE, A Violent Condemnation of Bullying And Inaction
Okada Susumu (Hamada Gaku) works part time cleaning buildings with his friend Ando Yuji (Muro Tsuyoshi). Ando asks Susumu to be a go between for himself and Abe Yuka (Satsukawa Aimi), a cafe worker. When they go to the cafe they notice Morita Shoichi (Morita Go) sitting on the patio looking at Abe. It turns out that Susumu and Morita went to the same high school. Yuka, though, informs Susumu that Shoichi is stalking her so he spends more time with her. Out of their friendship a romance blossoms and more than just Ando’s and Morita’s feelings will be hurt by the end. 
 
The first half is a gathering of awkward and unsettling characters. Okada is the lovable oaf. He a bit absent minded, shy, the kind of guy that has to read the instructions on the box of condoms. Ando is just as awkward socially, if not more, and cannot take a hint that Abe is not interested in him. Abe however finds Okada’s insecurities charming and latches onto him quickly, much to the chagrin of Ando and even worse Morito. 
 
If you did not do your homework ahead of time it would be wasy to presume that Himeanole is a romantic drama. As their romance grows you find Okada and Abe to be a charming couple finding love and romance. There are even a few laughs along the way. All of it aims at disarming the audience and lulling us into a false sense of comfort.
 
There is a hint of menace however as we discover that Morito’ has secrets from his past that haunt him. Wagusa, the son of a hotel owner, is also a former classmate but these two also share a dark secret. They were both relentlessly bullied by a classmate in high school and after no one would help them they took it upon themselves to bring it to and end. It is because of this secret that Morito extorts him for money. Wagusa’s girlfriend Kumiko eventually learns of this dark secret and they decide that they will kill Morito to make the problem go away. 
 
We are at the halfway point of the film and director Yoshida Keisuke finally runs the credits. From this moment Yoshida turns away from the romantic drama of the first half and effortlessly moves into a straight up terrifying suspense thriller. The transition is so smooth that when the story goes to hell, very quickly, it is with exceptionally brutal acts of violence as Morita works his way to Abe. Anyone who stands in his way, absolutely anyone, will not live long to tell of it. Morito leaves in his wake a trail of death that is astonishing. 
 
Every murder is more unsettling than the one before it. Most of the deaths are not immediate, the victims slowly and painfully slip away after each brutal stabbing or bludgeoning. When Morita gets his hands on a gun, well, death becomes more definitive. There is no simpler way to put it, the second half of this film is brutal as fuck, near to the very end. 
 
Himeanole stands as a condemnation of bullying and the long lasting effects of it. To think that the impact of bullying ends when high school is over is clearly folly as the portrayal of events we see in Keisuke’s film how even years later how Morita was affected by it, that he still bears the emotional and psychological scars of it into adulthood. This is the type of film that should be shown to high school students to show just how long lasting the effects of their taunts, jeers, lies, gossip and physical manifestations of their bullying have. 
 
Himeanole also condemns those who empower the bully by their acquiescence, by not saying or doing anything when these verbal or physical attacks happen. 
 
While a lot of western films want to show or capture the shattering effects of bullying at the teen level few have ever ventured into adulthood like Himeanole has to show how long lasting those effects are. There often isn’t a Hollywood ending. Not everyone who was bullied, socially outcast, hurt physically, emotionally and psychologically, creates their own software company and dates international super-models. For most of us this is never the ending we got. Reality is this, the effects of bullying last forever. I speak out of personal experiences. It comes back. 
 
Himeanole strikes a particular nerve in victims of bullying when it does not shock with its sudden outbursts of graphic and stunning violence. The message is important. The delivery is exceptional and also jarring, an excellent example of emotional manipulation by Keisuke and his adaptation of Furuya Minoru’s manga Himeanoru. 
 
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