“This place gives new meaning to “the middle of nowhere”.”
Although we know that “there’s no place like home”, the idea of moving out of the protective layer that is home and experiencing the world is quite universal. In Europe, for example, after school, teenagers were expected to travel to other countries which would not only improve their economic status but also their general development as a citizen of a nation. Of course, whether you would actually walk the streets of Rome, Paris or Athens was largely dependent on your family’s finances and, of course, your gender. Thankfully though, times have changed and with many exchange programs spending time in another culture, working there and, sometimes, moving there for good has become a significant pillar of our globalized society.
Naturally, this opportunity comes with a certain set of expectation and pressure for those either staying behind or returning home. Especially moving out has to be one of the central hopes young people have when it comes to finally go somewhere “less boring”, resulting in the general revaluation of the city as a place to live in. In his new feature film “It’s Boring Here, Pick Me Up” Japanese director Ryuichi Hiroki explores those who return from the big city to the small community they were born in as well as the feelings which accompany that return.
“It’s Boring Here, Pick Me Up” is screening at
Nippon Connection
Even though she had a job in Tokyo, I (Ai Hashimoto) has moved back to her home town, working as a reporter for a small outlet. After a job covering the opening of a local ramen shop, she and photographer Suga (Jun Murakami) meet up with I’s high-school friend Satsuki (Yurina Yanagi). During the drive through town, the three of them share their frustrations about coming back as well as their feelings of being a failure in they eyes of others. When the conversation starts revolving around the topic of Shiina (Ryo Narita), a boy both girls had a crush on, they decide they want to find out what has become of him, one of the most popular students at their school.
At the same time, the film follows Me (Mugi Kadowaki) who cannot get over her relationship with Shiina back in high-school. Although she admires living in Tokyo and would like to move there, she feels as if she is stuck in her home town and having relationships with men she does not even like that much.
As one of the most important meeting grounds, I, Satsuki and Suga go to the local arcade. Highlighting the significance of the place, we see the younger versions playing a game of pool with Shiina trying to teach I how to play, whose embarrassment thinly veils her obvious delight in being noticed by a popular student like him. However, the bright colors and the beautiful natural light from the sun outside is quickly exchanged by the dark and gloomy image of the present with the arcade now seemingly deserted, save for a single customer, Shinpo (Daichi Watanabe). While surprised and embarrassed by the two women recognizing him as a former member of Shiina’s clique, he quickly starts telling stories about how he is just there for a visit and will go back to the big city soon. Even though he seems to be obviously lying, no one points it out, letting Shinpo wear the temporary mask of superiority and “being a success” which they also occasionally wear.
In general, many of the scenes in Hiroki’s film follow a similar pattern. When emphasizing the contrast between past and present, the use of light as well as the images by cinematographer Tomoyuki Mizuguchi depict the chasm between the idealized youth and the tedious present. The past has become an idealized space, something which, even though we may be talking about a time merely ten years ago, you look upon like beloved memories in a picture book. The various layers of time the film shows and jumps in between represent the vast development, decisions and experiences the characters have made, all of which manifest the distinction between the “boring” present and the “exciting and hopeful” past.
Another interesting factor in Hiroki’s film is its depiction of space. For character such as Shinpo and I, places like the arcade, their high-school or the swimming pool they often frequented have become like shrines for worshiping a possibly idealized version of the past. Therefore, Shinpo’s reaction in the aforementioned scene is stereotypical for an adult unwilling (or unable?) to admit the “defeat” of having returned or being stuck in the dreary place of their youth. As characters torn between memory and their undesirable present, the idea of home has to be questioned and they feel most comfortable in temporary/ transitional places like diners, hotel rooms or malls. Consequently, the most important space, as one of them points out, is the car, a much needed “home” and means of transportation in the horizontal structures of rural Japan.
In the end, “It’s Boring Here, Pick Me Up” is about letting go of this past, of the chains of an idealizing memory and move on. However, there is a light nostalgic, yet believable tone running through Ryuichi Hiroki’s film, making it a delight to watch. You will most certainly find more than one scene which will remind you of the pressures and expectations we all have to endure once we have to leave for the “big world” outside the safe nest.
