Unconventional sci-fi film, basically a visual audiobook or spoken diary/poem that follows a war survivor's into his past before and after a war. The film is shot semi-documentary style with interviews and flashbacks, almost a non-narrative. The film doesn't talk about the war itself – there's literally no backstory establishing the universe or worldbuilding at all. Instead, voice-over narration opens the film in a ponderous, exposition-dense sequence about war and the human condition; it begins to sound like any other clichéd, heavy-handed commentary on humans's inherent violence. But then, as Toshi Toda's character ventures deeper and deeper into his memories, his calmness begins to crack, the journey winding into a sharper, more emotional turn. And the film, spurred by Toda's slow unraveling, soon accelerates into exceptional territory.
Simply put, Toshi Toda is a master performer. His character starts calm and dispassionate, but his slow, gradual reversal is genuine and affecting. Keep in mind he's reminiscing about a completely fictional science fiction/fantasy war with explosions, lasers and spaceships, etc. Yet it's hard not to feel an emotional response when Toda pulls it off with a realistic and believable performance (scene about wife), and that somehow fits this sci-fi/doc hybrind aesthetic, blurring the line between fact and fiction. Kudos to the director for drawing out that performance. Ultimately I'd recommend this for the emotional journey: hope, loss, sorrow and revenge. It may be a low-budget "non-story" with not much structure, but it lets the audience lean on one actor's standout performance to carry them through.
Simply put, Toshi Toda is a master performer. His character starts calm and dispassionate, but his slow, gradual reversal is genuine and affecting. Keep in mind he's reminiscing about a completely fictional science fiction/fantasy war with explosions, lasers and spaceships, etc. Yet it's hard not to feel an emotional response when Toda pulls it off with a realistic and believable performance (scene about wife), and that somehow fits this sci-fi/doc hybrind aesthetic, blurring the line between fact and fiction. Kudos to the director for drawing out that performance. Ultimately I'd recommend this for the emotional journey: hope, loss, sorrow and revenge. It may be a low-budget "non-story" with not much structure, but it lets the audience lean on one actor's standout performance to carry them through.
