JAPAN CUTS July 10- 21, 2023. REVIEWS

[Chris Knipp]

SHUNA IIJIMA, MAYU YAMAGUCHI, AND YUI KITAMURA IN BLUE IMAGINE

URARA MATSUBAYASHI: BLUE IMAGINE (2024)

About women who are victims of male assault; #MeToo in Japan

In 33-year-old Japanese actress Urara Matsubayashi's directorial debut, she deals head-on with the issue of ale sexual violence in the local film industry. In the aftermath of being assaulted by a well-known director, young actress Noel (Mayu Yamaguchi) finds refuge in “Blue Imagine,” a communal living space for abused women. Here, she meets survivors with similar experiences and receives support from a counselor (played by director Matsubayashi). Blue Imagine complexly explores the physical, mental, and emotional scars of abuse, transformative power of friendship, and difficult questions of revenge, recovery and self-realization.

Blue imagine an organization that offers support to those who have suffered sexual abuse and harassment. The young women depicted here meet there.

Two years ago, the lid on the sexual exploitation and harassment that structures the Japanese film industry was finally lifted. It was revealed that directors Hideo Sakaki and Sion Sono had abused their position as director to force sexual "favors." But the power dynamics have not changed. Everything remains very much the same in the Japanese film world.

The focus is on spiring actress Noeru Saito (Mayu Yamaguchi), who is a victim, and her friend Yurina Nishi (Asuka Kawatoko) confesses to her of being verbally and physically assaulted by her sugar daddy.

Guess what? A woman made this film. And it sets out to show that the power dynamics have not changed. Also, the social pressures, even traditional shyness of much of Japanese society, make it hard to speak up against any abuses or pressures exercised on the weak, which includes attractive but powerless young men, who are also shown to suffer sexual assault in the Japanese movie world.

This film is about three women who do what they can. The offending director who is exposed still goes ahead and releases his latest film, but these women show up at the press conference in the concluding scene to challenge him. It's a scene that starts out slowly, but does build up some steam by the end. This film is a quiet milestone in Japanese cinema.

This film will speak to the older generation but it may inspire the younger one to action. It's a clear, simple, straightforward film but it doesn't lecture us. See the Osaka Festival review in PsychoCinematography. Written by Minami Goto, cinematography by Isao Ishii.

Blue Imagine ブルーイマジン, 93 min., debuted at Rotterdam Feb. 2024. Screened for this review as part of the 2024 New York Japan Cuts series (Uul. 10-21).