Director: Makoto Nagahisa
Writer: Makoto Nagahisa (Screenplay)
Starring: Keita Ninomiya, Mondo Okumura, Satoshi Mizuno, Sena Nakajima
Plot: Four Japanese orphans form a rock band.
Runtime: 2 Hours
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Beautifully Unique
Story: We Are Little Zombies starts as four children Hikari (Ninomiya), Takemura (Okumura), Ishi (Mizuno) and Ikuko (Nakajima) all meet at the funeral other their parents, they strike up a bond, which sees them become friends instantly, as they all are dealing with the same grief in life.
The four decide to stick together, leaving their new lives behind and setting out on their own lives, which sees them on the verge of homelessness, here they discover their true calling, to be rock stars, using only the instruments from the local dump.
Thoughts on We Are Little Zombies
Characters – Hikari has spent most of his young life alone, he uses video games to get him through his alone time and after the accident which kills his parents, videos games continue to be a big part of his healing process, along with his new friends. Takemura and Ishi saw his parents die suddenly too, with them both having different people they need to impress in their new lives, people they both don’t want to be around. While Ikuko saw her parents murdered, with her one possession she would like back, being her piano. The four are drawn together to remain friends and show their new talents in music, a wave that will take over the country.
Performances – We have four wonderful performances from our young cast, Keita Ninomiya, Mondo Okumura, Satoshi Mizuno and Sena Nakajima, show a joyful chemistry that is surrounding their own problems they are going through in life and bring to life a new natural friendship.
Story – The story here follows four orphans that meet at their parents funerals, they create a unique bond that helps them address their emotionless reaction to what has happened and end up turning to music to look for their future in the world. We have so many themes going on through the film it is one you would need a couple of times to pick up on all the subtle little ones, the major one is about grief and loss, needing to learn how to deal with losing loved ones, we have friendship being important too, we see how fandom can cause more problems for anyone in the spotlight and how people will turn to different ideas to escape the reality of the world. This is such a clever, unique way to tell a story, with the whole experience feeling like a video game, with each chapter displayed like a new level of life.
Music – We have a musical theme running through the movie, with the orphans making a band, the songs mix video game music to create a unique sound for the band.
Settings – The film uses the settings to show the different locations the orphans end up visiting as they look to find their location in the world to fix the pain they are going through.
Scene of the Movie – Little Zombies, the first song.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The introduction to the characters is slightly too long.
Final Thoughts – This is an utterly unique movie that tackles difficult themes in life for teenagers in a way that you have never seen before in a way that you will never forget the experience it gives you.
Overall: Must Watch Movie.
