Starring professional juggler Hachiro, who performed at the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, “Routine” is another testament to the quality of short films coming lately from Asia.
Routine is screening at Camera Japan
The movie begins with a close up to a red ball, with the frame gradually opening up, to reveal the protagonist juggling in a park with his headphones on, while the music heard unfolds the segment like a music video of sorts. It turns out the protagonist cannot actually stop juggling, as we watch him moving his balls while walking on crowded streets, above passerby who stumble upon him, and even worse, inside the apartment he shares with his girlfriend, while they eat, as he bathes and even during their sleep. This last part is the last straw, with her kicking him out in the harshest fashion, and him ending up sleeping on a bench in the park. It is there he also stumbles upon a flier regarding a cleaning job.
The setting then changes to a duo of cleaners in a park, with the experienced, middle aged woman rushing a young man who does not seem to be able to clean a thing. When she returns to her office, her boss lets her know that the young man also quit, adding one more to a series of people who cannot handle the job. He also informs her that a new recruit will be with her the next week, and, as you can guess, this is the juggler. Their coexistence does not happen in the smoothest way, as he does not seem to know anything about cleaning, while also constantly juggling things. However, when he manages to pick her up just before she falls after stumbling, she begins to appreciate him in a new way, and as he manages to combine juggling with cleaning, the two built a rapport and get into a rhythm that makes their job much more pleasurable. Alas, the harmony does not last for long.
Takuya Mihara directs a delightful short, filled with deadpan humor, which derives from both the silent acting of Hachiro and his constant juggling, as much as from the reactions of the people who experience his tendency. Furthermore, the editing, with abrupt cuts, also moves in the same direction, adding even more to this type of humor, which actually carries the short from beginning to end.
Another rather appealing aspect of the movie is the way the tired, cynic, and disappointed cleaning woman gradually warms up to the juggler, with him sucking her in, in both his juggling and his overall rhythm, with this last element also dictating the pace of the movie. The way the two connect and start to care for each other is also appealingly portrayed, with the finale cementing this element in a fashion that is bittersweet as much as it is tender.
The actors seem to have adapted to the almost dialogue-less approach Mihara wanted to implement here in the best way, with their acting occasionally looking Chaplinesque, in another aspect that adds to the humor of the movie. The cinematography is simple, focusing mostly on all the juggling, from various angles and distances, while the rather fitting music is implemented in ideal moments.
“Routine” is an excellent short, funny and quite entertaining, and exactly as long as it should be.
