Making its International premiere, and co-presented by both the NYAFF and Japan Cuts 2011, is Yu Irie’s latest film, Ringing in their Ears. The film stars Fumi Nikaido, Kurumi Morishita, and Shinsei Kamattechan in a multi storyline movie surrounding a rock bands concert.
Sticking to his theme of music, Yu Irie’s (8000 Miles 1 & 2) new film is about the days building up to a rock concert by the reclusive band, Shinsei Kamattechan. There are about three different stories going on at the same time, everyone having problems of their own but all of whom are affected, either directly or indirectly, by this band.
The first story is about the band itself. They are a reclusive band that became famous on the internet because they stream their shows live and talk to both their live and computer audiences at the same time via webcam. They recently have signed a record deal with a large label who wants to change their style a bit and have approached their manager, Tsugari, for help. His story throughout the film is trying to decide whether or not to accept their offer in order to gain more fans. His personality changes drastically as he tries to feel out the band’s thoughts on specific matters.
The second story is about a five year old boy named Ryota Iijima and his 30 year old, single, part time pole dancing mother, Kauri. Ryota’s parents are divorced and the one thing his father gave him is his laptop, which he is obsessed with. Any free time Ryota has is spent web chatting with a member of Shinsei or watching their performances. He takes it to school and it eventually becomes a distraction for the other kindergarten children, especially when they learn the lyrics to one of the emo songs. The mother and child are at odd throughout the entire film because they just can’t seem to understand each other which, in any household, can cause a world of problems.
The third story is about an 18 year old girl named Michiko Narito. She is an amateur Shogi player (a board game of sorts) and is currently competing as a finalist in the 26th Annual Amateur Shogi championship. She has decided, against everyone’s wishes, that she will not go to a university and simply go Shogi pro. This causes trouble at home and the result is her lashing out like any angry teenager. She gets introduced to Shinsei when her boyfriend invites her to the upcoming concert that is a week away.
What I thought was brilliant about the movie was how the band’s lyrics spoke to both the movie going audience and the actual characters in the film. It was describing the lives and issues of the band’s target audience, mainly “reclusives,” outcasts, and social rebels, so that they could easily relate to them. As for speaking to the film audience, it wanted to show how the power of song is a legitimate weapon and can have an impact on people’s lives.
That being said, I still wasn’t a huge fan of the movie. Even with my full attention, I never felt invested in the characters or cared about their outcome…well maybe except for Tsugari. The strong emotional connection that you expect from a multifaceted drama such as this never seemed to develop. The story was there and told me that I should care, but 
instead of persuading me to feel for it, it tried to tell me to feel for it. Now I place part of the blame on the way the way the film was shot. It was filmed with an HD cam which means that it gave it that reality TV look instead of the flatter look we expect from other filming methods. The problem with this method is that it tried to make the film seem more realistic, which is fine, but when you can tell something is totally scripted, that’s when it loses the lust and the method fails.
I don’t blame my slight dislike on just the filming method itself, I think the acting also makes a significant contribution as well. I enjoyed Michiko’s acting because she played a convincing angry teenager. She was probably around 18 so I don’t know how much was really acting and how much was her acting out like any menstruating woman. As for everyone else, they were either decent, bad, or awkward, or possibly displayed a combination of all three.
Overall, the Ringing in their Ears is an ambitious film that tries just a little too hard to be an impactful and thoughtful drama. It has some very unique aspects to it and almost succeeds as a whole but, unfortunately, just misses the mark. I have a feeling that Yu Irie will hit that mark on his next drama but this film will just have to be his stepping stone for the time being.
Rating: If an emo music video were made into a movie, this would be the result. (5.8/10)
You can catch Ringing in their Ears on July 7th at the Japan Society or on July 11th at the Walter Reade Theater.
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