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Happyend

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Happyend
Japanese theatrical release poster
Directed byNeo Sora
Written byNeo Sora
Produced by
  • Albert Tholen
  • Aiko Masubuchi
  • Eric Nyari
  • Anthony Chen
  • Alex C. Lo
Starring
CinematographyBill Kirstein
Edited byAlbert Tholen
Music byLia Ouyang Rusli
Production
companies
  • Zakkubalan
  • Cineric Creative
  • Cinema Inutile
  • Giraffe Pictures
  • Spark Features
  • Sons of Rigor
Distributed by
Release dates
  • September 2, 2024 (2024-09-02) (Venice)[1]
  • October 4, 2024 (2024-10-04) (Japan)
  • June 20, 2025 (2025-06-20) (United States)
Running time
113 minutes
Countries
  • Japan
  • United States
LanguageJapanese[1]

Happyend (stylized in Japan as HAPPYEND)[2][3][4] is a 2024 drama film, written and directed by Neo Sora. It stars Kurihara Hayato, Hidaka Yukito, Ayumu Nakajima, Makiko Watanabe, and Shirō Sano.

It had its world premiere at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on September 2, 2024, in the Orizzonti section, and was released in Japan on October 4, 2024, by Bitters End, and is scheduled to be released in the United States on June 20, 2025, by Metrograph Pictures.

Premise

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Set in near-future Tokyo, two best friends are about to graduate high school, while threats of an earthquake looms. One night, they pull a prank on their principal, leading to a surveillance system being installed. They respond in contrasting ways.[5]

Cast

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Production

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In August 2020, it was announced that Neo Sora would direct the film, then titled Earthquake, from a screenplay he wrote.[6] The film was selected for the 2022 Sundance Institute Screenwriting and Directing labs.[7]

Release

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The film had its world premiere at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on September 2, 2024, in the Orizzonti section.[8] Prior to, Metrograph Pictures acquired North American distribution rights to the film.[9] It will also screen at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2024.[10][11] and the 2024 New York Film Festival.[12][13] It was released in Japan on October 4, 2024, by Bitters End.[14] It is scheduled to be released in the United States on June 20, 2025.[15]

It was also invited at the 29th Busan International Film Festival in 'Special program in focus' Teenage Minds, Teenage Movies section and it will be screened there in October 2024.[16] And take part in the 'First Feature Competition' of the 2024 BFI London Film Festival.[17] The film will make its South Asia premiere at the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2024 in the World Cinema section.[18]

Themes

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Happyend explores how political unrest and personal relationships intersect. The film centers on a friendship that fractures as one character becomes politically active while the other withdraws. Director Neo Sora contrasts small, personal moments with broader social shifts, touching on themes such as surveillance, youth disillusionment, and state control. The story also engages with questions of Japanese identity, xenophobia, and historical amnesia, particularly regarding Japan’s colonial past. Underground music scenes and resistance to AI-generated culture reflect the characters’ pushback against commercialization and conformity. The film also addresses the limited political agency of marginalized groups, including Japan’s Zainichi Korean community.[19]

Reception

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Critical response

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 94% of 17 critics' reviews are positive. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 68 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney praised Happyend for its "expert tonal balance between the bittersweet, elegiac qualities of the end-of-school drama" and its portrayal of an educational institution "that becomes like a prison," reflecting broader political anxieties. He noted the film’s "light yet lingering touch to larger fears affecting all of us" while remaining grounded in the personal. Rooney also highlighted Bill Kirstein’s cinematography for "finding poetry in the stark urban landscapes," and noted that Lia Ouyang Rusli’s score complemented the visuals. He described the mostly newcomer cast as "naturals."[20] Writing for Screen Daily, Jonathan Romney described the film as "a crisp and understated piece" and highlighted Bill Kirstein’s cinematography for its use of "nocturnal cityscapes" and "sterile empty spaces" within school settings. He also noted the young cast's "organic energy," though remarked they were "unconvincingly a little heavy on the pop star looks."[21]

Slate's Marshall Shaffer rated the film 2 out of 4 stars, writing that the director "struggles to balance the immediacy of adolescent angst with the long-range outlook of using the students’ experience as a canary in the coal mine for society at large." The review noted that Happyend "never quite satisfies as a microcosmic analysis of Japan" due to limited depiction of the world outside the school. While describing the film as a "confident narrative feature debut" with insight into generational and national direction, Shaffer notes that it lacks "connective tissue between the small details and Sora’s bigger-picture views."[22] Whang Yee Ling of The Straits Times gave it 3 out of 5 stars, describing it as "unassuming but emotionally textured."[23]

Accolades

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Award Year Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Asia Pacific Screen Awards 2024 Best Film Happyend Nominated [24]
Best Screenplay Neo Sora Nominated
Young Cinema Award Won [25]
BFI London Film Festival 2024 Sutherland Trophy Nominated [26]
Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival 2024 Golden Hanoman Award Won [27]
Pingyao International Film Festival 2024 Roberto Rossellini Jury Award Won [28]
Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival 2024 NETPAC Award Happyend Nominated [29]
Observation Missions for Asian Cinema Award Won [30]
Venice Film Festival 2024 Orizzonti Neo Sora Nominated [1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Biennale Cinema 2024 | Happyend". Venice Biennale. Archived from the original on 5 September 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  2. ^ "映画 HAPPYEND (2024)". allcinema. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  3. ^ "HAPPYEND : 作品情報・キャスト・あらすじ・動画". eiga.com. Archived from the original on 12 September 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  4. ^ "HAPPYEND (2024) – 作品情報・映画レビュー". KINENOTE. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  5. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (July 23, 2024). "Magnify Boards Neo Sora's Venice-Bound Japanese Dystopian Film 'Happyend' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on September 3, 2024. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  6. ^ Lang, Jamie (August 5, 2020). "Locarno Competition Filmmaker Neo Sora Prepares Debut Feature 'Earthquake' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  7. ^ "Sundance Institute Announces 2022 Fellows for Directors, Screenwriters and Native Labs". Sundance Institute. May 9, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  8. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (July 23, 2024). "Venice Film Festival Lineup: 'Joker: Folie à Deux', Almodovar, Guadagnino, Kurzel, Larrain & More In Competition – Full List". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 23, 2024. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  9. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (September 3, 2024). "Metrograph Pictures Buys Venice Festival Highlight 'Happyend' for North America Ahead of Toronto Premiere (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  10. ^ Lattanzio, Ryan (August 6, 2024). "'Presence,' Cannes Favorites 'Seed of the Sacred Fig' and 'To a Land Unknown' Join TIFF Centrepiece Lineup". IndieWire. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  11. ^ "Happyend". Toronto International Film Festival. Archived from the original on August 10, 2024. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  12. ^ "Happyend". New York Film Festival. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  13. ^ "62nd New York Film Festival Main Slate Announced". New York Film Festival. August 6, 2024. Archived from the original on September 21, 2024. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  14. ^ "Happyend". Bitters End. Archived from the original on August 9, 2024. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  15. ^ "Film at Lincoln Center Announces Spring 2025 Programming Lineup". Film at Lincoln Center. March 12, 2025. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  16. ^ "The 29th BIFF announces Special Program in Focus 'Teen Spirit, Teen Movie'". Busan International Film Festival. August 19, 2024. Archived from the original on September 1, 2024. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  17. ^ Szalai, Georg (4 September 2024). "London Film Fest Unveils Full Program, Including Doc and First Feature Competition Lineups, Series". The Hollywood Reporter.
  18. ^ Deb, Deepshikha (2024-09-30). "MAMI Mumbai Film Festival Unveils 2024 Official Lineup". High On Films. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
  19. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (2025-03-15). "Neo Sora Talks Political Divide in 'Happyend': 'Japan Hasn't Really Reflected on its Colonial Past'". Variety. Retrieved 2025-05-18.
  20. ^ Rooney, David (2024-09-02). "'Happyend' Review: High School Becomes a Microcosm of Surveillance-State Oppression in Affecting Near-Future Drama". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2025-05-18.
  21. ^ Romney, Jonathan. "'Happyend': Venice Review". Screen Daily. Retrieved 2025-05-18.
  22. ^ Shaffer, Marshall (2024-09-24). "'Happyend' Review: It's Only a Teenage Wasteland". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2025-05-18.
  23. ^ "At The Movies: K-occult thriller Holy Night: Demon Hunters packs a punch, a bittersweet Happyend". The Straits Times. 2025-05-07. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 2025-05-18.
  24. ^ "17th ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED". Asia Pacific Screen Awards. 2024-10-16. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  25. ^ "WINNERS OF YOUNG CINEMA, BEST NEW PERFORMER & CULTURAL DIVERSITY AWARDS". Asia Pacific Screen Awards. 13 November 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-11-23. Retrieved 2024-12-02.
  26. ^ Williams, Tom (2024-09-27). "LFF announces 2024 competition juries". British Cinematographer Magazine. Archived from the original on 2024-12-01. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  27. ^ Fathurrozak (7 December 2024). "Ini Daftar Pemenang JAFF 2024". Media Indonesia. Archived from the original on 14 December 2024. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  28. ^ Shackleton, Liz (2024-09-30). "'Karst', 'The Sparrow In The Chimney' Win Top Awards At Pingyao International Film Festival". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 2024-10-02. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  29. ^ "2024 NETPAC Award". Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival. 2024-10-30. Archived from the original on 2024-12-03. Retrieved 2024-10-30.
  30. ^ "Montages of a Modern Motherhood Wins NETPAC Award". Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival. 2024-11-20. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
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