RISA SHIGEMATSU, MAKOTO TANAKA, RYOTA MATSUDA, TAKURO AKIYAMA IN SEE YOU TOMORROW

SAKI MICHIMOTO: SEE YOU TOMORROW ほなまた明日 (2024) JAPAN CUTS 2025S

The destructive effect of a best student

This minimalist film, which draws attention with its starkness and focus, represents how an outstanding student in a photography program seems to overwhelm some of the others. Ironically since it's about people involved in photography the images are on the bright and colorless side. The filmmaker is only 27 but is carving out a place here with her succession of well-drawn scenes.

The central character is Nao (Makoto Tanaka), the outstanding member of a group advanced photography students at an Osaka art college who outstrips the others in both dedication and ability. Her focus is street photography and people, it seems. She is never without her Canon 35 mm. SLR film camera hanging from her neck, and develops the black and white photographs of people she finds on the street and persuades to pose for her there, though we see two young women march off proclaiming her "creepy."

The film doesn't delve into the subtleties of photography but it's made clear that the dedicated artist who excels over others isn't like them and doesn't ever quite have time for them. After a falling out with her mother and a period of couch surfing with classmatres, Nao is living with a male photography student, Yamada (Ryota Matsuda), for whom she says only that she may feel affection. Everyone seems to revolve around Nao, including a friendlier young woman called Sayo (Risa Shigematsu), a more chatty, sociable guy called Tada (Takuro Akiyama), and the uneasy, hyper sensitive Yamada. When she gets a fellowship to study in Berlin even their teacher (Ken Okouchi) is envious of her. Perhaps everyone but Nao is an artist manqué.

The students question and chide the teacher a little at times: this is contemporary Japan, not a world where "senseis" have absolute, unquestioned authority. But he can tell a student after sitting and looking at a group of her photos for a while, sijmply that she's better, but not there yet, and that is accepted--without any analysis or explanation of the photographs. One gets a sense that art school is not the real world, not that the real world is anecessarily any more fair.

The film returns to the group four years later at a time when Nao, who has settled in Berlin, returns to Tokyo for an exhibition of her now widely recognized work. None of the others went on to be creative photographers, and only work in the field in secondary roles. Did Nao's presence discourage them rather than inspire them? They find Yamada, but he hides and runs from them. He actually says Nao has caused him to behave this way. So again, she moved dramatically forward while hurting others.

This film reminded me of Emmanuel Bourdeau's 2006 French film Poison Friends, about university students who are all influenced by a charismatic deceiver who in the end only harms them. Bourdeau's film is more elaborate and more negative about its picture of influence. Michimoto actually seems to admire Nao. But both films show that influences at university can be dangerous.

See You Tomorrow ほなまた明日 (Hona Mata Ashita "I'll see you tomorrow"),99 mins., released in Japan in theaters and on the internet September 28, 2024. Screened for this review as part of the Jul. 10-20 Japan Cuts. Showtime:
TUESDAY, JULY 15
6 PM What Should We Have Done?
8:30 PM See You Tomorrow

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©Chris Knipp. Blog: http://chrisknipp.blogspot.com/.