As the leader of the theatre troupe Europe Kikaku, writer Makoto Ueda has championed the form of short, location-based sci-fi stories with a limited number of characters. As the writer for features like “Summer Time Machine Blues”, “Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes” and “River“, he has taken this expertise onto the big screen and helped develop strong micro-budget sci-fi comedies. With this expertise and experience under his belt, he finally takes the leap behind the camera this year with his directorial debut “You are the Film”.
At the recommendation of the manager at the Good Heavens pub, playwright Madoka goes to watch a new indie movie at Tollywood, a small theatre in Tokyo’s Shimokitazawa area snuggled comfortably between Good Heavens Pub and the Crescent Rock restaurant. The film in question is “Sangenjaya Escape” and its star is Kazuma, the front man of a band that’s struggling to sell tickets. Fed up with his bandmates and at the suggestion of the restaurant manager, Kazuma goes to see “Shimokitazawa Exodus”, a new movie at the small theatre next door to the restaurant. When Kazuma arrives at the theatre, the film has already started, and on the screen is its star, Madoka, sat in the same theatre that Kazuma is now in. The two soon find out that they, alone in their own theatres, can talk to each other through the movies they are watching on their respective screens.
For his directorial debut, Makoto Ueda stays true to what he does best and if one is familiar with his style, all the hallmarks of his works are easy to spot here as well. If it was the computer screens connecting the future and the past in “Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes” or the time machine connecting the Sci-Fi Clubroom of the present, past and future in Summer Time Machine Blues, here it is the theatre room and screen connecting this multiverse together. The chaos, confusion and brilliance that come with these whimsical concepts are also all very well preserved here.
There are no explanations to the situation the characters find themselves in and yet, thanks to the fast and kinetic pace of the narrative in its short 68 minutes runtime, the audience finds themselves fully invested in the characters’ odd predicament. Even with the inherently repetitive nature of the time travel and time loop concepts of his previous works, Ueda’s works feel anything but, and here too, he keeps reinventing the narrative as it progresses along. This pushes the story into unpredictable territory in the second half which, while being hilarious in its absurdity and pushing the feature fully into sci-fi territory, works perfectly well within the constraints of the multiverse it sets up. Missing here is the sweet, bow-tied ending that most of his works conclude with, but Ueda opts for something that is still sure to leave a smile on the viewer’s face.
As with most Europe Kikaku productions, the acting in “You are the Film” too is of the quirky variety. Slighty exaggerated, slightly grounded, it makes for playful viewing and balances out the fanciful nature of the story. Former Nogizaka46 member Marika Ito plays the confused, wide-eyed Madoka, whereas Kai Inowaki portrays Kazuma. The two share good screen space, even if they only see each other through screens themselves for the most part. Ito, for her part, gets some dramatic scope as well amidst all the preposterousness too, thanks to her changing dynamics with her theatre troupe members. The rest of the production is filled with familiar Europe Kikaku faces, not least of which is Munenori Nagano as a multiverse-jumping stranger, making him the only cast member to feature in all three of Ueda’s aforementioned works as well as this one.
Another trait that this feature shares with those works is its fluid camera movements throughout the runtime. The use of long-takes and tracking shots is prevalent. The fact that the entire proceedings are set primarily in four locations, namely the theatre, the pub, the restaurant and the clothing store on the ground floor, means that the camera gets to follow our two lead characters in effectively dizzying fashion, heightening the madness and confusion that ensues.
Ultimately, “You are the Film” is a strong debut feature from Makoto Ueda and yet another inventive, inspired and often hilarious micro-budget gem from the writer, proving that he is almost as good a director of these kinds of productions as he is a writer.
