"Evaluation of 'Happyend': A Moving Portrayal of Friendship's Impermanence in a Chilling Surveillance State Tale"
In Japanese director Neo Sora's first fiction feature film, "Happyend", music takes centre stage as a powerful force challenging regimes that thrive on conformity and obedience. The film's narrative unfolds in a near future that mirrors our present world, albeit with a subtle twist - the screws are a little tighter.
The story revolves around Kou and Yuta, two best friends since childhood, who lead a gang of rebellious teenagers. Suspicion falls on them when a high-school principal finds his sports car vandalized and standing as a splashy yellow monolith in the school courtyard. The vandalism is declared an act of "terrorism" and becomes the pretext for the installation of a draconian surveillance system.
The gang shares a love for underground music and considers the school's equipment-stuffed music room as their rightful territory and base of operations. Kou and Yuta, in a daring move, gatecrash a techno club and receive a thumb drive containing the DJ's set, which they are entrusted to keep the thumping beat of youth-culture resistance alive.
The bond between Kou and Yuta begins to fray as Kou develops a crush on Fumi, a quiet, studious girl who hangs with an activist group. Kou gets involved with the group, leading to an awakening, while Yuta proves to be the more timid. The film's score, composed by Lia Ouyang Rusli, mirrors this evolving relationship - one moment monumental and electro, the next softest piano, never overbearingly deployed, and gradually narrowing the focus onto the bond between Kou and Yuta.
The whole student body is to be punished for the actions of just a few. This poignant backdrop adds depth to the characters' experiences as they come of age amid the potential end of the world. Inori Kilala plays the role of Fumi, the quiet, studious girl whom Kou develops a crush on.
"Happyend" was largely shot in Kobe, giving the city's concrete curves and high-rise skylines a slightly denatured air. The film's underlying faith is that the underage will always find a back door through which to sneak, a testament to the resilience of youth.
Sora's screenplay sketches a world where the more thoughtful Kou comes from a specific ethnic Korean background, which entails a different residency status and has more to lose from any run-ins with the authorities. The film's naiveté, which may be exactly what is needed, considering what all this sophistication has done for us, is a refreshing take on the dystopian genre.
"Happyend" is a testament to Sora's subtly fervent faith in music as a threat to regimes that rely on conformity and obedience. It's a film that encourages us to question, to rebel, and most importantly, to keep the beat of youth-culture resistance alive.
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