Win Morisaki was born in Myanmar in 1990. His Hollywood debut was in 2018, as one of the main casts of “Ready Player One” by Steven Spielberg. He won the New Actor Award at the 43rd Japan Academy Film Prize for “Listen to the Universe.” He has worked in various fields including the main characters of musicals, and “Sen” is his first film as a director.
Sen is screening at Short Shorts Film Festival and Asia
The film begins at sunrise at what appears to be a rural area. An elderly lady wakes up, opens her windows and starts singing, while following her daily routine. The news on the radio talks about the disappearance of a dog, while a young man joins the lady for breakfast a bit later, with the two of them singing and eating. It turns out that the young man is coming up with a museum in the area, inside the town hall. The woman continues singing, this time about her loneliness, while explaining various aspects of life in the area to the young man.
The later news on the radio though, talk about shootings in the conflict zone between Zamdan and Bao (both seem to be imaginary countries, probably in a parallel to Korea, Israel and Palestine or any conflict happening in the borders all around the world) with soldiers opening fire towards civilians. The radio even mentions the potential for war, but the elderly lady will not be bothered, continuing her routine. Another young guy appears soon, a delivery man, with the old lady treating him also as part of her family, which she obviously is missing.
It is not exactly everyday we come across a short that is also a musical, not to mention that the whole thing is in 4:3, but this is what Morisaki came up with in his debut. Truth is that the musical part does not work that well, particularly there is not that much orchestration of any type, more a kind of folk narration accompanied by subtle piano music. On the other hand, the presentation of rural life, with a particular focus on food and its preparation definitely works well, also due to the appealing cinematography, which seems to light up when the camera focuses on food.
Furthermore, the comments are intriguing. Can people ignore what is happening around them and just focus on their own lives? Will war ever stop, with the protagonist's demeanor that seems to state ‘seen this done that' giving a clear reply, throughout the movie. And talking about the protagonist, Mie Nakao gives a very appealing performance, adding her voice to somewhat that would otherwise be a typical Japanese family drama, this adding to the entertainment the film offers.
Overall, “Sen” is not exactly easy to watch, and the whether someone likes it will depend significantly on how much they enjoy this type of music. The visuals, however, as much as the presentation of food and traditional rural food are definitely pleasant to watch, as is the whole film actually.
