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Head Scratcher

I watched the j-drama film Go Away, Ultramarine as it was labeled as a sci-fi film, when in reality it's something like a modern fantasy and perhaps an allegory, or a love child of both.

The story revolves around people abandoned by lovers or companies who end up with amnesia on a beautiful but mysterious island. These people are looked after by caretakers and live a seemingly idyllic life. They can't remember how they got to the island, and they have to follow certain rules. They're told that can't leave the island until they remember what they've lost, which seems a little cruel considering everyone has memory gaps.

The story centers on the island's high school and a handful of students reacting to the female lead Yuu Manabe (Marie Iitoyo) a newly-arrived girl who is outspoken, politely defiant, and only wants to leave the island. The male lead, Nanakusa (Ryusei Yokohama) knew and was possibly involved with the new girl before he came to the island. Both characters are a little confusing, and their connection to each other even more so, but as they do a little light detective work on other characters and how they might escape you start to figure out they had feelings for each other before arriving on the island.

After watching a few Japanese movies like this one I'm starting to see the whole genre a bit differently -- they're a lot like French art films, only a little less depressing and a bit stranger. I think someone picked the word ultramarine as part of the title for this film because they thought it was pretty, because it has nothing to do with the story that I could see. At some points during the movie I was intrigued, at others I felt like I was being scolded. The ending didn't really end the story but looped it back on itself, which I admit, I thought was clever. After watching it I thought I might understand it better if I was Japanese, but despite my cultural misfitness it wasn't a total waste of time. Available to watch on Viki.com.

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