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Radio Urbanon
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DVD Review: PICNIC (Japan, 1996) |
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Tuesday, 15 May 2007 |
PICNIC
Director: Shunji Iwai
From: Japan
Date: 1996
Three psychopaths become friends in a psychopathic hospital far from
town---Coco, Tsumuji, and Satoru. Picnic is a movie all about the internal
world of three psychopaths which doesn’t make any moral judgments on their
abnormal behaviors. On the contrary, it shows some kind of sympathy of
fragile life of three insane kids in this cruel realistic world.
What attracted me at first was the name of the movie which obviously more
than just a picnic. For Coco, Tsumuji, and Satoru, actually it’s a
dangerous journey escaping from the hospital without a clear destination.
The bravest team brought a blanket of food and set out, hoping to see the
doomsday together. According to the Bible, it would be July 10th.
A Dangerous Journey to the Edge of the World
During their long journey, Coco run freely as fast as a blast of wind on
that long narrow wall through which they passed the cloverleaf junction,
the crowded circus, the highest buildings in town and the green fresh
grassplot. But no matter how beautiful the view looked like, there always
be dangerous zones down there---everything underground didn’t belong to
them.
Unfortunately, Satoru fall off the high wall carelessly in the middle of
their journey, dead with his own blood all over his body. Back to the real
life, the golden rule everyone should follow is not across the line, or you
will be in trouble. That’s what the doctor told Satoru, but he didn’t
follow. I could clearly hear the sound of his broken bones while he was
struggling to back onto the wall, but he failed, lying on that green fresh
grassplot and never be able to catch up with the team again.
Meanwhile, the heavy rain reminded Tsumuji of his terrible nightmare of
murdering his high school teacher, which was the reason why he was sent to
the hospital. Coco wanted to comfort him away from fear and guilty by
giving him the last kiss of the world. Everyone keeps their secrets buried,
especially Coco and Tsumuji. In the so-called doomsday, they changed their
deepest secrets——the experience to kill someone in the their life.
Eventually, only these two survivors kept going and reached the end of the
wall---the deep blue sea. By the time they reach it, standing on top of the
lighthouse, Coco shoot herself by the gun and ended her life in Tsumuji’s
arms with her black feather fluttering off her cloth all around.
Black Angel
Coco’s cloth is made by black feather printed herself which is suppose to
be white. She kept away from people who loved and cared about her and didn’
t want to get out of her own fantasy world. One of the most questions she
asked the nurse was if there will be a crow without black feather.
Actually, she is one of them---a black angle fallen on the ground,
seriously hurt. Coco had a sister before, but the way her sister copied
everything from her drove her crazy. If another person who has your eyes,
your face, the same clothes and the same character as you do in your daily
life, won’t you feel weird? So one day, Coco was beyond endurance and
killed her sister. Everyone thinks they are unique, so does Coco. By the
time she was sent into the hospital, only black feather could make her day
safe and occupied.
July 10th, on this one-way journey, Coco wore black from top to toes,
holding a black umbrella in her left hand and an empty blanket in her right
hand. She was surely the team leader and eventually sacrificed herself for
the last minute of the journey. And it’s really hard to tell who on earth
take her life away.
The Last Kiss of the World
Some said that one could gain peace and quiet temporarily during a hug,
while the last kiss of the world could give you is much more than a
peaceful moment or the feeling away from loneliness. Actually it’s Coco’s
last couple of minutes in her whole life when she got it in Tsumuji’s
arms, during the last rain of the world. Since she had a strong faith that
if she dead instead of him, Tsumuji would be away from guilty and gain free
in this pathetic world. Because by the time she dead, she thought it would
be the doomsday.
What Japanese movie will give you is a feeling of peace, pure, nature
beauty of everything. Usually it is about the black period of youth, or
endless dreams, or even death…that could stealthily touch your deep heart,
especially Picnic ——by Shunji Iwai. This 72-minutes amazing movie is more
than a story to realize dreams in a desperate situation. And you might
wonder why each single life is so fragile that we can’t fight against
destiny.
If Tsumuji didn’t have a mental disorder, what would he do after Coco’s
death? Obviously he still didn’t reach the doomsday. As the final survivor
at the end of the movie, we can imagine how painful he could be. No matter
death or faith that crazy team is seizing for in Picnic, this kind of
meaningless journey may happen once in your own dream. We all know there
will be no end of the world, and there will be no doomsday unless you die.
Best wishes to those who dead for dreams with the biggest smile on their
faces.
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