We Are Aliens
This poignant Cannes-premiering animation traces the friendship and falling-out of two boys after an incident at school changes their lives forever.
Attending the third grade in rural Japan, awkward Tsubasa has trouble connecting with his peers. Luckily, the gregarious Gyotaro invites him to play, and they quickly become firm friends. However, an unexpected event not only drives a wedge between the pair but also destabilises the school’s social hierarchy. These disruptions go on to mark both boys in profound ways, through their adolescent years and well into adulthood.
Bowing at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, Kohei Kadowaki’s stunning and stirringly told directorial debut recalls Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Monster (MIFF 2023) in its preoccupation with the impacts of childhood cruelty and Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon in its bisected structure representing each protagonist’s point of view, filling in gaps of memory and offering alternative perspectives on proceedings. Rendered using a dynamic, at times dreamlike blend of rotoscoped and hand-drawn 2D animation, We Are Aliens is a beautiful, bittersweet meditation on lost innocence and the internecine fractures that can complicate the experience of growing up.
“[This] agonizing, astounding animated gem heralds Kohei Kadowaki as an exciting new voice … a wonder to behold.” – The Wrap
Tickets
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