Parents' Guide to Jinsei

Ryuyu Suzuki's bleak feature debut proves the point that one person's trash is another's treasure—and, even further, that a person who's considered trash by some may be seen by others as treasure. Jinsei has won accolades in animation and anime circles, including a Best Film nomination at the heralded Annency International Animation Film Festival. Those who praise Suzuki's film have the deeper understanding that Jinsei functions as an exposé, holding a mirror up to Japanese society. From the way it portrays the main character's cruel treatment by classmates after his mother's death and exploitation in the J-pop music industry to the way it shows the dismissal of runaways living on the streets of Tokyo, Jinsei is a condemnation of Japan's systematic failures and cultural hypocrisy.

But if you don't have that context, the movie's impact will be lessened. Just as one example: The boy and his friend are recruited by a music mogul who's clearly modeled after J-pop promotor Johnny Kitagawa, who built wildly successful boy bands while secretly abusing the minors in his care. When the main character suddenly attacks the man in a brutal outburst, those in the know will see the scene as cathartic, but less informed viewers may find the reaction excessive and out of place. That said, Se-chan—and all the different identities and purposes he serves through his life—make one statement that will be clear to everyone: Life can be tough, terrible, and even unbearable, but it all comes around. The boy is treated like he's nothing, ignored, bullied, and treated inhumanely. But he also reaches peaks where he's seen as a hero and holds the world in his palm. We have to get through the bad times because there's always more life to be lived.