Co-produced by the French Miyu Productions and Japanese New Deer, “I’m Late” deals with the circle of life through an unusual path, which begins with (late) period and ends up in the birth of a baby.
I’m Late screened at Camera Japan
A recurring segment of a woman talking about her period kickstarts the 10-minute short, with a number of women talking about having bad experiences in that regard, and the animation depicting them in a graphic but also playful fashion. Stories about pregnancy, occasionally through shocking confessions come next, followed by an old man talking against condoms, or men highlighting their ignorance about the phenomenon in the most pointed fashion. Others, however, even seem to be philosophical about it, as the narrative begins to focus on the reactions of people to “the news”. A gynecologist examination leads to talks about pregnancy, with the short finishing with the depiction of a baby, closing the cycle of (pre) life in the smartest way.
Sawako Kabuki uses the format of “testimonies” (essentially people talking to the “camera”) to present the aforementioned concepts in a rather intelligent, sincere and also pointed fashion, all the while implementing a quite intricate animation procedure. Sketches of people that look quite realistic morph into anthropomorphic figures, which give their stead to almost surrealistic depictions of what the people talking are describing, to multiple drawings of the female body, and to various moments in the lives of people revolving around pregnancy. Sex scenes, occasionally among animals, and various almost surrealistic images are also interspersed with the intense speed of the changes matching the delivery of the “speeches”.
This combination of fast pace and quick animation works quite well for the short, deeming it rather easy to watch, despite the seriousness of its main subjects and the occasional intensity of the images presented, with Kabuki communicating her comments in the most eloquent fashion. Her own, along Zhou Xiaolin, Ikumi Umebayashi and Haruka Shimizu’s animation is excellent, particularly regarding its flow, while her sketches are simplistic for the most part, although the depiction of people is uncannily realistic, with the overall style allowing the context and animation to shine.
Apart from its evident artfulness, “I’m Late” is also a rather important film, as it deals with a phenomenon very rarely depicted on Japanese cinema, through an approach that is realistic as it is pointed.
