{"id":105152,"date":"2025-07-30T15:42:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T15:42:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/105152\/"},"modified":"2025-07-30T15:42:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T15:42:13","slug":"neo-soras-japanese-film-finds-a-u-s-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/105152\/","title":{"rendered":"Neo Sora’s Japanese Film Finds a U.S. Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cHappyend<\/a>,\u201d Neo Sora<\/a>\u2018s sophisticated Japanese drama about teenagers fighting against techno-fascism in a not-too-far-from-our-own dystopian world, has found its own happy end.<\/p>\n

Metrograph Pictures was originally meant to release the film<\/a>, a 2024 Venice premiere that IndieWire raved about<\/a>, until the company paused distribution operations as IndieWire exclusively reported last week<\/a>. Metrograph reverted distribution rights back to \u201cHappyend\u2019s\u201d original sales company, Magnify, and now, Film Movement has picked up the film for release starting September 12. IndieWire also debuts the exclusive trailer for the film below.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the synopsis: \u201cIn a near-future Tokyo where the threat of a catastrophic earthquake pervades daily life, two rabble-rousing best friends are about to graduate high school. One night, they pull a consequential prank on their Principal, which leads to a surveillance system being installed in their school. Stuck between the oppressive security system and a darkening national political situation, the two respond in contrasting ways, leading them to confront differences they never had to face before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Together\"<\/a> \"Left-Handed<\/a> <\/p>\n

Starring Kurihara Hayato, Hidaka Yukito, Ayumu Nakajima, Makiko Watanabe, and Shir\u014d Sano, \u201cHappyend\u201d premiered in the Orizzonti section at Venice last year before playing festivals including London, Marrakech, and New York. Film Movement this year also releases another Asian title centered around surveillance, \u201cStranger Eyes\u201d from Singapore<\/a>, which also played Venice.<\/p>\n

\u201cHappyend\u201d features cinematography by Bill Kirstein (who, in a total change of pace, also shot the \u201cMean Girls\u201d musical revamp from last year) and music by Lia Ouyang Rusli (composer behind this year\u2019s A24 hit \u201cSorry, Baby\u201d). Writer\/director Sora is the son of late, great Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. He directed the 2023 documentary about his father, \u201cOpus,\u201d and \u201cHappyend\u201d is his first narrative feature.<\/p>\n

More on \u201cHappyend\u201d from David Ehrlich\u2019s 2024 review<\/a>: \u201cThis is a frustrated portrait by a self-described leftist who isn\u2019t shy about his misgivings with techno-fascism (especially in a country that\u2019s become synonymous with the neon dream of a better future), but Sora is far too loving to let anger guide his hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Film Movement opens \u201cHappyend\u201d in select theaters on September 12. Watch the trailer below.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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