Critic Reviews

Sion Sono's film is a vision of coming of age as trial by fire, a thunderous encapsulation of that period of transition in which adolescents try to discover themselves: their passions, their purpose, their sense of morality.

Sono retains his go-for-the-throat approach, but the violence here somehow connects with the brutal economic conditions, and he fosters very tender, affecting performances from Shôta Sometani and Fumi Nikaidô as his crushed young lovers.

Mr. Sono uses sound, a low, grumbling noise like an earthquake, to convey this chaos. He also gives the film a harrowing cacophony and a sense of trauma with sound effects, including subtle echoes.

Young leads Shota Sometani and Fumi Nikaidou – both experienced film actors – grow in stature as the film progresses to the achingly real final scene, where they are extraordinarily intense and effective.

Over-the-top but blackly funny along the way.

Much of the film's impact stems from a pair of remarkable lead performances.

It offers a surreal slant on post-Fukushima Japan where aggression lurks in every scene - even the romantic ones between high-schooler Yuichi (Shôta Sometani) and his stalker classmate, Keiko (Fumi Nikaidô).

Because Sono tries to set the manga’s storyline, with its stylized violence, in the very real, post-earthquake/tsunami disaster area, Himizu struggles to find a coherent tone.

Intermittently refreshing yet thoroughly unpleasant.