At this point in his career, Kazuyuki Akashi has largely remained under the radar, although he might be a director worth seeking out. His 2011 debut film ‘Press' caught attention at its Cannes international screening, but his international attention seemed to dwindle shortly thereafter. Last year's ‘Hannora' might be similar to ‘Press' in its focus on themes relating to troubled youth, merging the Japanese words ‘half' (han) and ‘stray' (nora) with its title. And with all of its action, drama and absurdity, ‘Hannora' might be the film which will bring this director back to international attention.
Hannora screened at Japan FilmFest Hamburg
The film follows the perspective of Naoto, a high school student in a rock band with his two best friends who works a part-time job at a mysterious Chinese restaurant which occasionally hosts music performances. Naoto's life takes a turn when he runs into Maki, a girl his age who is desperately looking for her friend, Tomoko. Naoto agrees to help Maki in searching for her friend, and what ensues is a chaotic coming-of-age story filled with fashion, sex, drugs, and lots of Rock n' Roll.
In many ways, this movie is quite generic. That is, it follows generic tropes observed in classic coming-of age-stories, from the notion of desperate lovers and bullies to the concept of a dangerous love triangle. But that isn't to say that a generic movie can't be enjoyable, and ‘Hannora' is highly entertaining: It has all the fight scenes, drama, danger and intrigue one might hope for in high school drama-romance film. This is all accompanied by some great performances by Tanaka Riku as the angsty but disillusioned Naoto, and Hatano Miho as the naïve and excitable Maki—These roles feel genuine to Riku and Miho themselves, and it is inspiring to see these young actors shine in their early careers.
It might be overly ambitious in its execution of countless coming-of-age tropes, many of which don't fully come together by the film's conclusion. Yet with a great punk soundtrack and a satisfying level of drama and mystery, ‘Hannora' is certainly still an hour and a half of premium entertainment, and definitely something worth watching.
