Happyend

(Neo Sora, 2024, Japan/USA/Singapore/United Kingdom, 113 minutes)

Written and directed by Neo Sora (director of Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus, which we played in April 2024; Sora is Sakamoto’s son), Happyend is a Japanese coming-of-age picture, near dystopian in the way it depicts the modern surveillance state, yet at the same time feeling all too real. We follow high school best friends Yuta (Hayato Kurihara) and Kou (Yukito Hidaka) who, soon to graduate, pull a major prank on their school’s despicable principal. The fallout from the prank results in the school installing an AI surveillance system that monitors all students around the clock. This technological oppression awakens Kou’s political awareness while Yuta remains apolitical. Think Typhoon Club with earthquakes instead of typhoons, or All About Lily Chou-Chou with less bullying, and you’re on the right track. Produced by NYU alumnus Alex Lo, also a producer on last month’s surveillance thriller Stranger Eyes.

In Japanese with English subtitles.

You may also like the following events from Webster University Film Series:

• This Friday, 29th August, 07:30 pm, Taxi zum Klo in Webster Groves
• Next Friday, 5th September, 07:30 pm, Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass in Webster Groves
• Next month, 11th September, 07:30 pm, Diciannove in Webster Groves