Review of Humanity and Paper Balloons

The overall "slice of life" depiction of Edo's poor was well done. The technical details-acting, scenery, character building, cinematography, etc.-were well done. The film kept me engaged for 9/10ths of the story. The reason why I'm docking points is because the ending felt like the writer went, "Oh crap, we're running out of time and budget and need to wrap things up quickly." The conclusion felt natural, but it also felt like we were missing a scene or two or three to get there. Ultimately, I left the film feeling frustrated that I invested this much time into a story with an unsatisfying payoff.