PLASTIC Review: Anything But

Directed by Daisuke Miyazaki, Plastic is heartwarming in an unobtrusive way.

Two teenagers meet in the town of Nagoya, Japan. One is a girl who wears flowy clothes. One is a boy with beach blonde hair.

They both like the band Exne Kedy, and I must admit, the soundtrack is incredibly fun. It is inspired by Kensuke Ide's 2021 concept album Strolling Planet '74 - in the sense that the band pretends to be a 70s glam rock group in this film.

Ibuki (An Ogawa) starts dating Jun (Takuma Fujie). We cut to a time-skip. Then another, then another. Plastic takes into account how people and life evolve, notably working with the early pandemic period.

There's an amazing amount of both humour and youth. There are unexpected surprises. At one point, Ibuki talks to her dog, who answers sans audio. In a similar vein, there are long shots, deliberately awkward as the camera roams the high school hallways.

Interestingly enough, we see how both minds work through the cinematography. For Ibuki, it's a flash-forward into the future. Jun watches an unexpected concert in the wild.

Plastic challenges Western, if not international, conceptions about Japan's youth. The man is happy to wear makeup, trying to look like his idols. One of Ibuki's best friends is Black (it's telling that I couldn't find her name after research). It is not a big deal, but this is normal youth. Especially these days - Plastic incorporates texting in a meaningful manner.

It's a beautiful film for music lovers, and for those who still remember youth.

The film opens for an exclusive one-week New York theatrical run at Metrograph In Theater. On the same day, the film will also have its streaming premiere on Metrograph At Home, running for an exclusive limited engagement until December 4.