Synopsis (via IMDB)
Following an explosion at a factory that mysteriously freezes a town in time, two students encounter a mysterious feral child, spurring an impulse of love fueled by the frustration of their daily lives that begins to upend their world.
Review
Describing the Netflix Original anime film “Maboroshi” into a singular genre is much like describing the film’s construction. It’s a lot of things happening that don’t seem to connect until it does. As a genre, it could be considered a sci-fi, slice-of-life, mystical romance. The film’s opening feels disjointed as you follow a young man named Masamune as he goes through his “normal” life, which includes playing dangerous games, going to school, and random cracks in the sky that are eaten by smoke wolves.
Did that last phrase make you go, “What?” Basically, that’s the feeling you get throughout the film.
As it turns out, no one in this town has aged in 10 years and are being led by a crazed Shinto priest who has convinced them that they are being punished. They have discovered that they must maintain the status quo and not change at all, or else they will be eaten by the smoke wolves. Life gets even more turned upside down for Masamune when he discovers a wild girl who is very different from the others and whom the Priest claims is critical to their safety. At the end of the day, however, Masamune and his friends discover that things have to change, and they must help this young girl in a way that could threaten their own lives.
As chaotic and confusing as that may have sounded, it all comes together beautifully. The art and music direction does a fantastic job of enhancing the story while you take this strange journey. Because the storytelling itself is disjointed, it relies heavily on the elements of the film to keep you invested.
Spoilers
The film explores a lot of different emotions and themes. These themes aren’t truly realized until you get further into the film, and revelations begin to come forth for the viewer. Masamune is a young man trapped in time. While physically, he’s still physically roughly 14 years old, the reality is he’s 24. The events at the begin to make sense as you come to realize that the town itself isn’t real. Everyone seems to be some sort of phantom of time. It’s as if they encapsulated everyone’s grief, fears, insecurities, and doubts, made manifest and stuck in the days before the opening event.
With this backdrop, the film fascinatingly explores what it’s like to be stuck in a moment of grief and despair. Everyone is clinging to a way of life, attempting not to change out of fear of the unknown. Even the mysterious wild girl struggles with a similar fear as she is not from this reality and deals with the fear of abandonment.
Final thoughts
So, is this a good film? I’d say it’s undoubtedly one you should check out if you want something with a lot of emotion. You must be willing to trog through strange storytelling in the first act.
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