Approximately an hour after Yujiro Harumoto’s verse suspense moral story “Balance,” documentary director Yuko (Takiuchi) claims with an abortion doctor (Ryo Ikeda) that “morality is not always the best.” It’s a courtesy already tested for Yuko, whose life suddenly became very complicated. But that test is still in its infancy.
“This is all Topseater Bee,” the doctor replies. He doesn’t know half of it.
For the next 90 minutes of this slow-build ethics puzzle, Harumoto mercilessly changes the term each time Yuko thinks she has decided “what’s best.” Due to the film’s uneasy denowing, viewers can share her disorientation in most good ways, even though many useful plots can be unreliable (challenging). , See subtle nuances).
When we meet Yuko, she is in a hurry to complete a documentary about alleged sexual improperness at a school in Tokyo. As her research expands, ethics become more difficult, especially due to corporate pressure and misogyny.
Still, she is a player. Her willingness to develop certain standards to serve the “truth” suggests future problems. After Yuko’s world fell into a cave at a parallel event involving her school teacher’s father (Ken Mitsuishi), she gave her an important distance as a filmmaker: the camera, her persistent question. Seeking protection. Anyway, that was a good idea.
Yuko Takiuchi was bewitchingly mysterious due to the change of motherhood and mercenary. What drives her? Why does she still live with her father? Thankfully, we receive very little inside story. She is an ambitious woman and she only needs to suffer from the ruthless double standards surrounding sex and autonomy. As stakes go up, her moral clarity turns out to be a luxury that not everyone can buy.
balance
Unrated. Japanese, with subtitles. Execution time: 2 hours 33 minutes. See Film Movement +.
