Happyend

Neo Sora’s (Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus) narrative debut HAPPYEND is an impressive and urgent look at the age of hyper surveillance and AI that is becoming increasingly prevalent.

In a dystopian near-future depiction of Tokyo where the threat of a catastrophic earthquake looms over everyone’s lives and political unrest is growing, a group of five friends are nearing graduation. As the date draws closer, friends Yuta (Hayato Kurihara) and Kou (Yukito Hidaka) pull off an elaborate prank on the principal, targeting his prized sports car. But when the prank is used as an excuse to install a facial-recognition surveillance system that uses AI to monitor and punish student behaviour, attitudes between the group vary. As some submit to the harsh rules being enforced, others begin revolt, causing rifts to form between the friends, spilling from the schoolyard into political activism.

Japanese language, English subtitles.