Misuzu is a lonely high schooler abandoned by her family. One day her long-lost brother contacts her. She joins his counter-culture group of friends. Falling in love one of them, Kishi, the intellectual son of a government official. Together they plan the biggest heist in Japanese history.
The first half of the film moves slowly. Yet not much information is conveyed, it's almost as if it were a mood piece on the enervation of strung out rebels. Although these supposed counter-culturists never really do much rebelling I didn't get bored. The actors were charismatic enough to keep my attention. Though considerably lacking in tension, I liked the actors enough that I didn't notice until I saw the reviews here.
Aoi Miyazaki, as Misuzu, is one of the few young actresses able to convey actual depth without using words. this isn't her best work but she still draws you in. Her real-life brother, Masaru Miyazaki, playing her on-screen brother is also quite talented. But the most surprising was Keisuke Koide, as Kishi. I've seen him on Nodame cantabile, a Japanese television series, in which he played the comic relief. Here he turns in a straight performance, showing good versatility.
The director tries but fails to capture the excitement of the 1960s. Misuzu and her brother's friends don't seem to be passionate or knowledgeable about politics or anything for that matter. Although all the friends are introduced in the beginning, one wonders why the director even bothered, as the film doesn't develop them any further. Still each of the actors make surprisingly strong impressions; it's just a shame the director didn't bother to make better use of them and to create a better sense of camaraderie. The second half of the film picks up some speed as it gets into the actual heist. But still there is an odd lack of tension, and the actual event is almost laughingly simple. I didn't mind it but viewers expecting a heist film will.
