I had been seeing the Japanese promotions of Before We Vanish off and on all last year. My hope was that I got the chance to see the film at some point. I wasn't in Japan at the time so I decided to pray that the film got an international release. The fact that Kurosawa Kiyoshi(Pulse, Cure) was the director made it more likely that the film would make it across the water. Then the news broke that the film was selected for the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, so I definitely knew that there would be a North America release. Very well known actors and actresses make up the cast of Before We Vanish who include, Matsuda Ryuhei, Nagasawa Masami, and, Hasegawa Hiroki. A cameo appearance is also made by Higashide Masahiro.
Aliens come to earth to plan an invasion that will wipe out the whole human race. They possess a select few humans and began taking different concepts that make humans who they are. Can anyone stop these creatures before it's too late?
Kurosawa molds the concept of an Alien invasion with his own hands. Him using is own hands creates the shape of a plot that's been created before and remolded into something else. Now is the time for Kurosawa to mold this concept into his own unique shape of his choosing as a director. Before We Vanish builds it's foundation on the overused idea of extraterrestrials invading earth. The plot could have easily fallen into a pit hole of mediocrity using the same familiar traits to create a ScFi drama. Instead he uses the audience's familiarity to push a new take on Alien invasions. Kurosawa doesn't try to be too flashy with his horror of events but does give you just enough to feel that a horrible change is amiss. This film isn't about being too overly generous with the action either. The film defiantly makes you work for these scenes. Forcing the viewer to figure out what is going on since the film starts on a horrifying mysterious note. Only to then progress into a ScFi mystery drama with hints of comedy sprinkled around in unbelievable spots of the film. Much of Before We Vanish deals with the human mental structure and the Aliens trying to understand what humans are made up of emotionally. The aspect of concepts that make up human emotion that is present in this film made me think about how something so simple actually ties humans together as well as gives us a sound base on decisions that make us who we are. When someone takes that from us, the person we choose to become falls out of whack. In the center of this dilemma, Two characters have a revived love between one another(Her husband is possessed by an alien..). Even without a ton of Alien fighting scenes, Before We Vanish stays interesting because of the weird story and characters that inhabit it. I enjoyed how the director made less more while giving a lot of the film's lead way to the actors and actresses.
I'm a pretty big fan of Ryuhei, so I was excited to see him in another film. He is very well known for playing strange roles in Japan while also being well diverse. I've also really come to like Hiroki too after seeing his performances in Attack on Titian and GOZU series. Both actors role choices range from very strange to kinda normal. This film was a perfect fit for both of them. Especially since the director left all the Alien's realism to the cast. There isn't any special effects to help the cast craft their characters. The cast is just left to use their pure talent to convince viewers. Every single actress and actor made this film a blast to watch. Each person gave very believable performances to the point that I was saying while watching that the film that there was no need so over the top special effects. The stuns that were done fit into the minimalistic plan that the film goes for overall. I think the explosions probably costed the most money. The film's music score helped the characters send their feelings into existence for the viewer. A dark classical soundtrack always makes me happy.
Before We Vanish is so strangely made that is will satisfy you in weird way. I enjoyed this film the most because of who it was made. The cast played a big part in making this film enjoyable too.
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