It
is tough being a delinquent in a small town. Once you get tagged with a rep,
fairly or unfairly, it is impossible to shake. That definitely happens to poor Ai
Shima. All she wants is to be loved and all Ryota Sakuma wants to do is love
her, but everything and everyone conspires against them in Eiji Uchida’s Love and Other Cults (trailer here), which screens
during the 2017 New York Asian Film Festival.
Shima’s
mother never showed her any affection, because her love is always reserved for
the various religious cults she compulsively joins. Ironically, when her mother
shipped her off to the commune run by the dodgy western con artist Lavi, Shima
finally found the love and acceptance she craved. Alas, it would not last. When
the cops returned her to her neglectful mother, Shima fell in with a loose knit
group of punks. That is how she met Sakuma. He looks like a studious,
blazer-wearing high schooler, but he is as jaded as they come.
Nevertheless,
he desperately wants to save Shima from her demeaning life, but she is stuck
running scams for the likes of aspiring yakuza Yuji Mieno, who is determined to
impress the local boss, Kida. However, when his imposing right-hand man Kenta
Kitagawa shows signs of disillusionment, perhaps envisioning a more stable life
with Reika Kojima, the beautiful marine biologist, Mieno will start lashing out
to shore up his position.
Tonally,
LAOC covers the waterfront. Think of
it as one part Sion Sono’s Love Exposure,
one part Tetsuya Nakashima’s Memories of Matsuko, and one part The
Breakfast Club. Although it is billed as something of a transgressive comedy,
the overriding emotion it inspires is one of profound sadness for the
frequently rejected and abandoned Shima.
Sairi Itô plays her with such earnestness and a vulnerability, it often hurts
to watch her.
Frankly,
Kenta Suga’s Sakuma is a bit of a cold fish cypher opposite her. In contrast,
Kaito Yoshimura is so flamboyantly and erratically nuts as Mieno, he is like
watching a fireworks show. Old crafty Denden does his thing as sinister old
Kida. However, (uni-named) Antony and Hanae Kan unexpectedly steal the show as
Kitagawa and Kojima, developing to our shock and dismay, a healthy, appealing
romantic relationship.