Recently seen movies #99

Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? (Japan, 2005) – 3,5/5

2015. A virus causing depression and despair, and ultimately leading to suicide, has taken the lives of 3 million Japanese. Two new age musicians (Tadanobu Asano and Masaya Nakahara) have been able to fight the symptoms through noice. Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani differs from most other apocalyptic visions in its minimalism; there’s no doomsday imagery, and the seashore setting looks almost normal, only people have become even fewer than before. Appart from a couple of short scenes in the beginning and a few flashbacks only 6 actors appear in the film. The slow pace is welcome, and the lengthy noice creation sessions will test the audience’s patience. Unfortunately the director has also felt the need to add childish sci-fi content and ”weird” supporting characters. The originality is strong enough to carry over most of these flaws, though.