Dallas Film Now.

Ryuya Suzuki wrote, directed, edited, and scored the fascinating, entirely hand-drawn film over 18 months. 

Life is not a bowl of apples. Or an easily understood narrative feature. 

Ryuya Suzuki’s intensely personal film interprets the life of one individual as a giant mosaic spanning nearly a century, beginning with his mother’s haphazard time as a taxi cab driver. 

Moving swiftly forward to his final year in a new school, the teenager, identifying as Se-chan (voiced by Cool Ace), is relentlessly bullied by classmates. Perhaps it’s because he arrived only a few months before graduation, perhaps it’s because he doesn’t speak to anyone, perhaps it’s because he doesn’t fight back or report the bullies to school authorities. 

One blonde boy stands against his classmates, however, by befriending Se-chan. Their friendship is built upon their mutual attraction to boy bands. While the blond boy’s room is filled with posters and other boy-band memorabilia, Se-chan is fixated upon a boy-band star from the past; he watches an old video of the star’s performance repeatedly. 

Soon, the two friends audition for a new boy band. Despite the worst audition in history — seriously, Se-chan just stands still, and the other auditioning boys make the most pathetic dance moves ever — the six young men are anointed as Zinroku, and their intense training begins immediately. 

Se-chan changes names and identities with frequency over the decades, transforming himself in appearance with nonsensical aplomb. The more he changes, however, the more he remains the same: a stoic, taciturn, and mysterious individual who does not wish to reveal his innermost thoughts and feelings to anyone. 

People die, people live, and it’s all the same to the multi-identifying protagonist, who is, improbably enough, the one stabilizing factor in the entire movie, a steady, unflappable presence, like a Japanese Forrest Gump, around whom the entire world changes constantly. Not all the changes are necessarily for the better, yet the protagonist endures, which may be the greatest triumph of all.  

The film opens Friday, June 12, in select area theaters: AMC Parks @ Arlington 18, Grapevine Mills 24, Mesquite 30 Theatres, and Stonebriar 24.  For locations and showtimes, visit the official site.