River's Edge (2018)

Tales of the Misfits

Characters are self obsessed, angsty, self-destructive and in some sense rejected by society. I was truly absorbed by these characters throughout the movie, and being a coming of age film lover, I really like the character study treatment they have given on each character especially the interview part. Film was deep, very philosophical, it tackles existentialism quite profoundly. I also heard it was based on a manga so if that's true that would make it the darkest and the most depressing manga based movie I've ever seen. I also love the setting, it is set in an industrial area in 1990's, and vibe is a blend between depressing and nostalgic.

I love the cinematography, it's very atmospheric, and camera work is documentary like, love character close up shots and the background. Music is simplistic but effective, it builds the tension for each scenes and the transition to the next. I also love how the ending credits song is upbeat such contrast to the whole theme of the film, it gives smile to my face.

Great acting from all of these young cast lead by the Fumi Nikaido which in my opinion the best young actress in Japan, she's really good with these type of characters. Yoshizawa Ryo is a revelation in this movie, I didn't know he can act like this, such intensity, reminds me of a young Kengo Kora. The rest of the cast did great job as well because it's not an easy feat to play these types of characters.

Not for everyone obviously, lots of gore and sex scenes. Also the narrative doesn't have anything to do with romanticism but existentialism. Slow but thought provoking film, it probably requires a rewatch to fully understand the message of the film.

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I feel that the story the movie is telling is incredibly deep. It will leave you thinking for days, though for me it was too dark...and graphic. However you won't feel the time passing by while watching as the movie will suck you into its story, with no chance to escape that gruesome depiction  of life in the 1990s.

Moreover in my opinion the characters were each totally individual and thereby you could see from a lot of different perspectives. Nevertheless what happened would leave me scarred for life so I cannot relate and do not want to do so.

In summary it is a fascinating but shocking and depressing movie which I would recommend for anyone searching for something meaningful. To watch it though, you will need some strong nerves.

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