Island Times (Japan Version - English Subtitles) DVD Region 2

Junior high to high school is a major transition for any teenager, and for 15-year-old Masaharu (Yanagisawa Daisuke) that rite of passage is all the more daunting because of his unique hometown. Masaharu lives on Aogashima, a small island with a grand population of 197. Located around 350km south of Tokyo, Aogashima might as well be a world away as life on the island is quiet and simple. Since none of the newspapers make it to Aogashima, Masaharu diligently writes and prints his own island newspaper leaflet. He is a third-year junior high school student, the only one in his grade until cute Tokyo transplant Yuki (Naka Riisa) moves to the island. There are no high schools on Aogashima, so after graduation Masaharu will move by himself to Tokyo. The process is a given for all young islanders, but Masaharu begins to have doubts when his best friend drops out of school and returns from Tokyo, seemingly a shadow of his former self. Yuki too seems content to stay on the island, quietly hiding from whatever awaits her in the real world.

Having seen one too many Japanese tearjerkers in recent years, I was waiting warily for the moment when Yuki reveals she has a rare disease. And, thankfully, it never came. In fact, the film has very few pinpoint moments to speak of, choosing to stay in an awkward, reticent, and meanderingly mundane mood for much of its duration. Hey, it's just like growing up. The actors occupy flawed, but likable characters who wallow in an air of introspective immaturity, with that slightly stand-offish, angsty attitude teenagers wear like second skin. A character-driven drama about believably unexpressive teenagers may not seem all that exciting, but the film is actually quite engaging and pleasant to watch. The quiet story builds weight as it progresses by realistically capturing the insecurity and urgency of approaching life's crossroads, that feeling of knowing one should move forward but would much prefer to stay put.

The conflicts and anxieties take on particular meaning in Island Times because of the film's remote setting. It is no small detail that newspapers don't make it to Aogashima. Japan has the world's topselling newspapers and the kind of daily sales and circulation rates that would make U.S. publishers keel over and cry. To live in a place where the Yomiuri Shimbun doesn't reach would be almost unfathomable to the average Japanese person, and it helps illustrate exactly how unique Masaharu's experience is, however universal his coming-of-age anxieties may be. To grow up, Masaharu has to literally cross the ocean and leave everything he knows behind. The island takes on various identities for its residents - home, haven, cage - and for the protagonists, coming to terms with self also means determining their relationship with the island, be it leaving, staying, or returning.