Believing that the world will end that very day, three mental patients Coco, Tsumuji, and Satoru set out upon a journey. Walking upon the tops of the walls of the city, they seek to find a picnic spot with the best vantage point to view the final event.
Cinematography
Stunning wall-walking sequences—gravity-defying urban poetry.
Acting
Chara and Asano's fragile, electric chemistry carries everything.
Direction
Iwai's early work: already a master of melancholic beauty.
Director
Shunji Iwai
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shunji Iwai shot this in 8mm before his breakout hit 'Love Letter'—the grainy texture was budget necessity turned aesthetic signature. Chara was already a J-pop phenomenon; this proved she could devastate.
The 1995 Kobe earthquake looms over this film's sense of sudden ending—though Iwai never references it directly, Japanese audiences felt the apocalyptic mood in their bones. The 'wall walking' became a metaphor for precarious youth in post-bubble Japan.
JP
