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I’ve said before that I’m not really much of a gamer. Beyond the fact that I’m fairly busy with educational, internet and piano related endeavours, I don’t really have much interest in playing most games either. However, due to the fact that I now have a 2 hour total commute each day on a shaky bus where I won’t be getting much work done regardless, I decided to buy a Nintendo DS. Although I use it to watch films or other media occasionally, the reason I chose the DS in particular was because of ….

Ima, Boku wa is a debut film by Yasutomo Chikuma, who also stars in the title role. It revolves around a short period of time in the life of 20-year-old Satoru, a “NEET”. NEET is a term originally used in the UK that refers to young men who are Not engaged in Education, Employment or Training. Fans of anime might be more familiar with the term “hikkikomori”. To put it bluntly, these are people who are not really engaged in anything productive and leech off their parents who provide them with the money and food to survive.

The longest poems stretch for pages while the shortest are a few lines, or even syllables. Yet regardless of the length or verbosity, the effect of a poem and the amount of work which went into making it can be the same. If we were comparing films to poems, I believe that “Banshun” would be one of the shorter ones, seemingly simplistic and undetailed at first but powerful when reflected upon. There are no excessive details or overdirection – scenes are kept simple and the story itself isn’t filled with dramatic plot revelations and twists. Rather, it is filmmaking in it’s purest form – a communication of an story between the director and his audience.’