The most obvious theme of this film is how strong perspective is, how people perceive their own reality. The depiction of the theme is strong, but it's just the first layer.
Another strong theme is how rumor or hearsay starts to live its own life. A quick remark, based on truth or not, is made and interpreted and then it becomes a reality and people are judged by it.
But there is a third theme that haunts me, days after seeing the film, and that is rebirth. It comes up several times. The first time is when Minato talks with his mother about his deceased father. What will he be reborn as? A giraffe? A horse?
The second scene with this theme is when the boys, in all their innocent inaptitude, try to cremate the dead cat they found; it may not get reborn otherwise.
And lastly, in the film's finale. Did Minato and Yori escape really the train wagon unharmed? Or perhaps their crawling out of the bottom, continuing on without a care, is a metaphor for their passing. They are reborn in a better world where they can be together. It's explicitly said: "Are we reborn now?" "No, we are not." But who can know if they are reborn?
This film raises many questions, and for that I commend it greatly.
Another strong theme is how rumor or hearsay starts to live its own life. A quick remark, based on truth or not, is made and interpreted and then it becomes a reality and people are judged by it.
But there is a third theme that haunts me, days after seeing the film, and that is rebirth. It comes up several times. The first time is when Minato talks with his mother about his deceased father. What will he be reborn as? A giraffe? A horse?
The second scene with this theme is when the boys, in all their innocent inaptitude, try to cremate the dead cat they found; it may not get reborn otherwise.
And lastly, in the film's finale. Did Minato and Yori escape really the train wagon unharmed? Or perhaps their crawling out of the bottom, continuing on without a care, is a metaphor for their passing. They are reborn in a better world where they can be together. It's explicitly said: "Are we reborn now?" "No, we are not." But who can know if they are reborn?
This film raises many questions, and for that I commend it greatly.