It is perhaps one of the most interesting contradictions of art that its creation brings the highest of joys while also the lowest of lows. To be precise, with the advent of social media and video platforms, the means to create music or films are endless. At the same time, the ways a person can put down someone’s art because he/she does not like or care enough for it have grown as well. Indeed, the way people can be nasty can be measured just by looking at YouTube comments or any forum on Reddit or X. In his feature debut “A Few Moments of Cheers”, director Popreq tells a story of two people trying their best to make art for themselves and for an audience. However, the feature is also about their hardships and what it means to sacrifice for the sake of art and why talent may sometimes not be enough.
When high school student Kanata made his first music video about a song he liked at the time, he became hooked. Ever since then, he made numerous music videos, for artists he likes as well as the high school band. However, one night he sees a young woman performing a song in the rainy streets of his hometown. Deeply touched by the lyrics and the melodies, he tries to follow her, but eventually loses track of the musician.
As he is still talking to his friend Tono about this encounter, he is shocked to see that their new teacher Yu Orie is the musician he so desperately tried to talk to last night. After school and in the days that follow, he attempts to convince Yu to let him create a video for the song, to make people aware of it and her. In record time, he is able to finish his work, but much to his surprise, Orie is anything but thrilled.
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As a debut, “A Few Moments of Cheers” is quite impressive for a few reasons. Jukki Hanada‘s script touches upon some quite complicated aspects when it comes to, for example, the relationship between art and life, the reward for creating something meaningful and the audience’s reception of aforementioned art. While some features have tackled these concept to some extent, and sometimes with a bit more bite, to be honest, Popreq’s focus on the emotional reaction of his main characters makes for a good story.
One of the greatest strengths of the feature is how it leaves much to the interpretation of the viewer, for instance, Yu Orie’s emotional turmoil which made her decide on a different path in life. Additionally, this goes hand in hand with Kanata’s approach to his music video, as he shares the opinion his creation should reflect how he perceives the music, highlight its positive features and thus present the viewer with a different (and perhaps unique) take on a piece of art.
Indeed, this idea is undoubtedly what makes “A Few Moments of Cheers” a more than solid feature. The overall aesthetic approach, the animation as well as the design not only mirror Kanata’s style when approaching his music videos, but it is also very creative, emphasizing the movie’s core theme about the reward for being creative and the sheer joy of creating. The music videos are quite something, although the lyrics of the music are a bit corny at times and not on the same artistic level. Also, the segments showing Kanata making various stylistic choices for his music videos, from the design of the characters to the editing, are also noteworthy as they also stress the features mentioned before.
“A Few Moments of Cheers” is a solid animated feature on the rewards and the joy of being creative, while also showing the setbacks when you feel your creation does not have any impact. Popreq’s debut features stands out mostly due to its animation style highlighting why people make art and how music and movies can give you a unique perspective on various topics and concepts which are difficult to put into words.