BRIGHT FUTURE

Japan, 2003, 92 minutes, Colour.
Odagiri Jo, Asano Tadanobu.
Directed by Kurosawa Kiyoschi.

Bright Future is a strange film, an eerie atmosphere, a parable about evil in society. It focuses on two young men, one a very mysterious and eccentric young man, locked in his own world, the other his co-worker who turns out to be the more evil of the two. The latter has a pet jellyfish which is potentially poisonous.

The jellyfish serves as an image of the two young men, both of them poisonous and destroying those they come in contact with. When their boss at work is killed by the jellyfish, its owner is taken to prison and dies. The central young man inherits the jellyfish but loses it, it enters into the waters of Tokyo and becomes destructive while multiplying. The jellyfish can be destructive as well as being a creature of beauty which can make its way to the sea.

The film is a strange psychological drama, a comment on Japanese society and the potential for destruction as well as being a reflection on evil.

1. The impact of the film? As psychological drama? As thriller? As parable about good and evil?

2. The colour photography, the bleached style, the eerie atmosphere, reality and unreality? The apartments, the workplaces, homes? The exteriors, the streets, the rivers? The image of the jellyfish and its colour, especially in the multiplication of the jellyfish in the water? The musical score?

3. The title of the film, its ironies? For the man who died, for the young man struggling to survive in his own world, for the group of young men that he infects, who do the robbery, who gather together and march down the street during the final credits - all infected and the potential for a destruction of society or not?

4. The focus on Narumi, his voice-over, the story of his dreams, their destructiveness? The change of dreams? Sleeping at work, Atami waking him up? Their life together, at the flat, eating, their dependence on each other? The interest in technology and media? The job and helping the boss move the cupboard, the comedy of shifting the desk from place to place? The irony of the boss and his fascination with the jellyfish, his dying? The consequences? Atami and his going to jail?

5. Atami, his personality, seeming the lesser of the two men, his destructiveness, malice with the boss? In prison, the visits of Narumi, of his father? His death? His later haunting Narumi?

6. Narumi, his survival, work, the way that he spent his time, caring for the jellyfish, losing it? The visit to Atami's father and their discussions? His further work, success, technology, seeming to heal himself and have a bright future? His sister and her concern?

7. The ghost of Atami, his influencing Narumi, the destructiveness, the boss? The boss and his kind attitude towards Narumi, even getting the adoption papers? The jellyfish and his hesitation?

8. The newsflashes, the poisoning by the jellyfish? Their multiplication, glowing in the river - people being killed, yet the jellyfish going towards the sea? The previous experiment with Atami wanting the jellyfish to live on fresh water rather than salt water?

9. The boss, his death, the effect on Narumi?

10. The group of young men, Narumi and his giving them information, the robbery, their bungling, Narumi and his escape, their being taken by the police? Out on the street again, marching together down the street, the potential for destruction - the irony of a bright future?

11. Narumi himself, the experiences? How much reality? How much dream? Symbolism?