A terrific film with many excellent shots and sequences, including underwater photography, although not an easy watch. There is much violence and sexual exploitation, although it is sensitively handled and does not dominate the story. Instead the overall effect is a tender tale of first love and seeking affection in the wrong places.
The script sometimes makes big leaps between cause and effect but never loses touch with plausibility. We first meet Ai / Ananda as a primary school-age child, but can already see her trajectory towards a difficult adolescence. We follow Ryota (a stereotypical sullen teen, perhaps the least convincing character) as his life intersects with hers, always wanting to rescue her but never quite making the right connection.
In a separate thread, we see Kenta offered a chance to leave his violent life and make a new one with Reika, and the impact it has on her.
There are contrasts between the sometimes frenetic gangster world and the more serene one lived by bit part players, children and young people who cut across the central story to keep the main characters grounded in their town, their schools and communities.
I admit to being confused at times by cuts between scenes, and I am not familiar with Japanese culture, although this did not spoil the effect. I could see where things were going wrong and how easily they could have been different if minor events had gone in favour of our protagonists.
A great piece of work, and I will seek out more from this director.
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