The Japanese Film Festival Magazine is having a partnership with Moosic Lab, by showing selected films from the 2017-2018 editions. The Lab is a Japanese competition, where directors and musicians work together, to create a unique film/music piece of art. You can catch-up the curated movies online (https://www.japanesefilmfest.org/streaming_vol2/).
Mitsuko, a young adult, is soaking in a warm bath. She is also stalking her ex-boyfriend on Instagram (can't really blame her- the description is quite funnily accurate). The young woman is not over her breakup yet. That is when she encounters the ghost of Keisuke. The latter is a 20-something musician who used to live in Mitsuko's current apartment. He can't access afterlife; he still has a few songs to finish and perform. She can see him because she is heartbroken and hence ‘half dead'. In a musical environment, the two souls wander together, help each other, heal together. The plot has something for everyone: music scenes, dramatic running moments, funny bits, a God dancing part, and slap-in-the-face pieces.
“Dead vacation” is a fun film to watch. It sometimes turns into a music video; it can have its pace sometimes a bit off. But the short movie is very entertaining and well-executed. The interconnection with music is successful. It raised to the challenge of Moosic lab: it is a piece of art, with the work of Yawata and GALAXIEDEAD, that merges music and cinema.
The acting is on point, and, most importantly, the image is mastered. Pop-culture visual codes are integrated and played with. At some point, the format of the image changes, reminding of Xavier Dolan's “Mommy”. It's not done in a flashy manner, which is noteworthy. The use of photos/soundless videos is one with the movie. It's actually so well-done that it looks natural and easy.
In conclusion, “Dead Vacation” is worth watching, because it's entertaining, because the mix with the music is nice, and mostly because the visual aspect shows skills and is interesting.
