Kids


Japan
Director: Tatsuya Ogishima
Year: 2008

Intriguing though not very high octave or high budget tale of a young man with the power of healing. It takes place in some nowheresville town in Japan where there seems little to do other than beat up on each other or eat avocado burgers at the Paradise Diner. Takeo (Hiroshi Tamaki) is a working class stiff with a predilection for violence and a hatred for his comatose father who beat him when he was a child. One day in the diner he spots a young innocent looking fellow named Asato (pop star Teppei Koike) use his telekinetic power to move the salt container. Takeo becomes friends with him and soon discovers that Asato can also heal injuries - but only by transferring them to his own body. Oddly, the town seems to be full of children constantly falling and getting cuts and bruised body parts and Asato begins taking them all onto his own. But he can also transfer these injuries to another person - and Takeo suggests his father is a prime candidate. Also, in the story is the waitress Shiho (my fave Chiaki Kuriyama) who wears a mask to cover a horrible scar over her mouth and Asato falls for her scar or no scar. But then Asato comes across a huge multi-car accident that may test even his God-like powers. Some interesting ideas in here - what are your limits for sacrifice - how much should you simply leave to fate - but there is a real lack of energy going on and the ending is almost too cheerful for its own good. And Chiaki wears a mask for much of the film!

My rating for this film: 5.5