Happyend
In a dystopian urban landscape where technology is used to curb civil liberties and student rights, a diverse group of teenagers struggle to maintain their long-held friendships.
Tokyo, sometime in the near future: against a backdrop of constant government warnings about an imminent mega-earthquake that never seems to arrive, five music-loving high schoolers stage an elaborate prank on their principal’s prized sports car. In response, their school installs an all-seeing facial-recognition surveillance system that uses AI to monitor and punish student behaviour. As both the school and Japanese society grow more repressive – with climate panic and nationalism used as cynical political tools – the group’s bond is put to the test. When it feels like the world is ending, do you protest and fight, or just opt out and have fun?
Director Neo Sora, who documented the final concert of his legendary father, Ryuichi Sakamoto, in Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus (2023), takes a far different tack with his first narrative feature. Winning Sora the Young Cinema Award at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, Happyend is a melancholy coming-of-age story about friends drifting apart in a time of social tumult, in which differences are entrenched and young lives are inherently political.
“[Depicts a] generation [that] has grown up in a world of increased monitoring … As the students push back against Big Brother, these young people are forced to decide what matters to them and how much they’re willing to fight for it.” – RogerEbert.com