Every now and then in your lifetime, especially in adulthood, you look back; whether it happens so randomly or it's because you catch a sniff of a familiar perfume or you visit a location from old memory. You look back and perhaps cringe, wanting to take it all back. Or you look back and softly smile, feeling grateful and glad you met this group of friends.
We Couldn't Become Adults (2021) is about Sato (Mirai Moriyama), a 40-something-year-old graphic designer, receiving a friend request from a familiar face who he never thought he'll see again. This sends him to look back on his past relationships, hopes, and dreams.
There's just so much to unpack about this film. I don't even know where to start. An emotional, non-linear Japanese story, adapted from an acclaimed Japanese novel, touches topics about life, love, moments, growing up, and the people, who come and go but have a bigger role than you think they have.
WHAT'S TO LIKE
Throughout the film, we go back year after year into Sato's past. As we go further, the framing and letterboxes change. They shift from the rectangular 2.35 letterbox in the 2000s to a square frame in the '90s. It's a nice little detail that I think won't be hard to notice. It creates this sense of time rather than depending on the usual blocks of text.
The film is slow-paced. It's not dramatic. Nothing's exaggerated. It stays grounded, raw and real. Everything about it just feels soft and natural. The film uses subtlety, the little things, that when it was nearing the end of the story, it gives a huge impact in the end. It was poetic, not just the framing, but the whole thing.
There's a scene where Sato hangs with his friends at their bar. The jokes and laughs just make you feel like you're part of the group. Their dialogues are what you hear when you go have a drink with your friends. The next thing you know you're actually smiling with them.
WHAT'S TO DISLIKE (BUT NOT REALLY)
Kaori has this manic pixie dream girl vibe, but, without trying to spoil it, Sato finds out she's not who he thought she is. There's a sort of issue that's being talked about in using this trope or device in stories, but personally, it depends on how it's used. In reality, there are people who do meet this kind of person whether you're a male or a female. We have this person who makes a mark in our lives, who directly or indirectly makes you change. What makes the manic pixie dream girl/boy very unlikeable is how the main character is being forced to change rather than the main character making the change him/herself.
It didn't seem obvious at first until Sato mentions it to his boss. He was asked to get married and move on with life, but Sato said "She's not into that sort of thing. It's ordinary" In a way, he's depending on the girl he loves. But still, in the end, Kaori is not the usual manic pixie dream girl we usually watch in the film.
TIMELESS QUOTES
We Can't Become Adults is best watched when you're at a certain age and at a certain moment in your life; when you've matured, have a job, gained experience, and are still in the middle of fulfilling your life goals. This is just me, but I think you know what I mean. Perhaps it is unintentional, and perhaps, it's just me again, but the film, the story, feels like it's made for you. It definitely felt like it is made for me.
You'll know what I mean when I say these memorable quotes. They were scattered all over the film like bread crumbs, but they truly capture the essence of the story:
Everybody else keeps growing older, but we stay the same.
Sato was walking on a familiar alleyway and you can hear voices from his past echo. This was one of the sentences. It's such a cliche statement, but still relatable. Each and every one of us is still a kid inside. We still dream and want to freely do what we want to do as adults. "Growing older" meant getting married, settling down, halting the chase of your dreams, starting a family, etc. When we were kids, we don't think of responsibilities, we're carefree, innocent eyes, and dreamers. As we grow old, we become wiser and face the real world. Gone are the days where we think we can do anything and dream big.
Somehow, we need to stop growing older and live a little. We need to stop being scared of dreaming big again. We need to stop being like everyone else and live carefree like when we were young. I think some of us are lucky to know enough to live like this.
It doesn't matter where you're going, what matters is who you're with.
Another cliche quote, but timeless yet again. Kaori said this when they were on a sudden road trip, a spur-of-the-moment decision (well, she rented a car already, but for Sato, it was a sudden invitation). They didn't know their destination, but at that moment, it didn't matter where they're going, as long as they're together.
But the dialogue wasn't only meant for that moment solely. In the journey of life, it doesn't matter where you're heading, but what matters is who you're with. Because the people you hang around with, who you talk with, who you love, who you like, who you laugh with, they will mold you into the person who you'll become. That's what makes the journey worthwhile.
This is a common saying throughout the whole movie. "Wow, they're getting married...they've become ordinary"
In most ways, it really means like what I mentioned earlier, ordinary means settling down, starting a family, etc. We stop dreaming and chasing. It was spoken like it leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
It doesn't mean that settling down or getting married was a bad thing. We all associate that part of our lives as being held down. It's pretty hard to spend time chasing your dreams when you have to focus on your partner and your family. We are meant to do extraordinary things, but sometimes, we have to realize, we are humans too.
Kaori:What if you write a novel?
Sato: I have nothing
Kaori: You're fine. You're Interesting. Your body is filled too, with words waiting to go to heaven.
Kaori was kind of the anchor to Sato. He wants to be extraordinary because he knows that's what Kaori likes. Even when she left him out of the blue (not a spoiler, it was mentioned in the trailer), Sato still lives by what she wants, perhaps thinking they'll meet again. He wants to be extraordinary for her. The fact she encourages Sato to write because she finds him interesting still rings inside his head as he was slowly putting together his novel.
As an aspiring writer myself, it's truly hard to do the job, to put everything into words. There are and will be days where you think if your story will even be interesting, if your voice will be heard, or if anyone would understand you. Not only in writing, but also in life as well. We may sometimes wonder if we're important if we have any purpose to be here living on this earth.
We need to be reminded that yes we are important. We are born for a reason. We're all unique, and interesting. We each have a story to tell in our own unique ways. We just need to act upon it.
RATE & RECOMMENDATION
Film: đđđđđ
Experience: đđđđđ
We Couldn't Become Adults is a gem. It is a timeless piece that you can watch as many times as you want, in different times of your life, and it'll still give you this same feeling of being seen. It's poetry written on the screen.
I've mentioned it before, but this is recommended for mature young adults and above where they are at a certain point in their lives; perhaps getting a job, having not seen your childhood friends for quite some time, or when you're at a turning point in your life.
I hope you get to enjoy this movie as much as I did. Leave a comment below if you've watched it and share your thoughts.
Comments
Post a Comment