Ichiro
Yamada is bullied regularly in high school, but that does not necessarily mean
he is a good person. In fact, he is arguably a creepy sociopath, but the rest of
his classmates are not much better. The kids are definitely not alright in Isao
Yukisada’s River’s Edge (trailer here), which screens
during the 2018 New York Asian Film Festival.
Haruna
Wakakusa often protects the sensitive looking Yamada from her knuckle-dragging
boyfriend Kannonzaki, but she still sleeps with the lout. However, she insists
on protection and keeps things pretty conventional. Her bestie Rumi, on the other
hand, will indulge Kannonzaki’s kinky and irresponsible demands on the side.
Wakakusa might have initially felt an attraction to Yamada, but he nips that in
the bud by coming out to her. Sadly, he has not been as honest and decent with
Kanna Tajima, an enraptured underclassman he has been using as a cover for his
true sexuality.
Yamada
has not let Tajima in on his other secret either. His special place of refuge
from the world is a weedy nook by the river that shelters a desiccated corpse.
For some reason, he finds its presence soothing. The fact that it might be somebody’s
missing loved one never crosses his mind—or if it does, it doesn’t bother him. Wakakusa
also seems untroubled by this special secret Yamada shares with her and the
same is true of his other platonic girlfriend, Kozue Yoshikawa, a teen
actress-model with a disturbing binge-and-purge habit.
Seriously,
aren’t you glad you’ve graduated from high school? At least River’s Edge is a period piece set in
the early 1990s, so everyone is spared the nefarious multiplier effect of
social media. Misaki Setoyama’s adaptation of the cult manga series is
uncompromisingly honest and brutally naturalistic, but it just leaves the audience
with a sense of emptiness. Nihilism, cynicism, and misanthropy really don’t
leave us with much to work with.
Nevertheless,
the young cast are uniformly quite remarkable. Fumi Nikaido does some career
best work as Wakakusa, which is saying something. She rather fools the audience
with her plucky façade, but when she finally reveals how empty she is inside,
it is quite heavy. Likewise, Ryo Yoshizawa is absolutely chilling as cold,
calculating Yamada. As Yoshikawa, Sumire (one name only) has that undefinable “it”
quality that just pops off the screen. However, it is Aoi Morikawa who really
brings the emotional pile-driver as the naïve and vulnerable Tajima.
Youth
are often aimless in Japanese films, going back to the original “Sun Tribe”
movies, but River’s Edge takes it to
a whole new level. It is sometimes shocking and maybe a little depressing, but
there is no denying its potency. Recommended for black coffee-drinking
cineastes, River’s Edge screens
Tuesday evening (7/3) at the Walter Reade, as part of this year’s NYAFF.
