Install (2004)

This slight but polished coming-of-age drama has one of those slightly uncomfortable "only in Japan" scenarios, focusing on the first teetering steps into the outer limits of cyber sex by two youthful protagonists separated by the gulf of adolescence.

Scripted by prodigious TV screenwriter Mika Omori, Install is an adaptation from the novel of the same name by Risa Wataya, which earned its author the distinction of being the youngest ever recipient of the Bungei Prize for literature at the age of 17. Featuring frankly sexual discussions between its youthful protagonists, though never prurient or explicit, its unaffectedly innocent approach to the subject, as with Shin Togashi’s Gomen (2002), would probably raise more than a few eyebrows from overseas viewers.

Seventeen-year-old high school girl Asako (Ueto from Ryuhei Kitamura’s Azumi), feeling her individuality being crushed by the dull daily grind of her studies, takes to skipping class, sealing herself in her bedroom after her mother goes to work and lying spread-eagled on the floor staring at the ceiling. An attempt to rid herself of all material possessions brings her into contact with Kazuyoshi (Kamiki), a sexually precocious 10-year-old living in the same building as her. Kazuyoshi takes charge of Asako’s computer, and starts lurking around sex chatrooms where he meets a young bored housewife Miyabi who works in fuzoku hostess clubs while her husband is at work. With Asako at a loose end, Kazuyoshi drafts her in to help him set up paid dates for Miyabi, leaving her hidden in his closet sitting in front of the screen and talking dirty to anonymous strangers while he attends elementary school. Internet sex-talk indeed proves a lucrative business for all parties concerned, but in the world of the internet no one is really who they seem, and with neither of them having ever "done it", Asako soon finds herself needing more than just a vivid imagination to maintain the pretence.

With its gracefully gliding cameras and bright vibrant colours, the story cracks off at a bouncy energetic pace within a squeaky clean format honed to perfection by TV director Kataoka, making his feature debut. Though pitched at the teen market, Install rises above the level of a diverting curiosity and turns out to be a pretty fun ride that doesn’t outstay its welcome, and has some interesting things to say about role-playing and the socialisation / sexualisation of youngsters in the early years of the twenty-first century.

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Teenager Confronts Adult Sexuality

I watched this film as a fan of Wataya Risa's writing and especially her novel Install. She wrote it while still a teenager herself, and later won the prestigious Akutagawa award for her novel Keritai Senaka (The Back I Want To Kick). When Asako is lying on her back on the boy's bed, the book you can see beside her with the blue cover is Keritai Senaka.

The film did well in capturing some of the strengths of the novel: the surreal, dreamy quality; the absurd storyline; and the humorous character interaction. In many scenes we get the pervading sense of children being surrounded by reminders of adult sexuality, which seem to them to come from a strange and unknown world. Asako, a 17- year-old virgin, is uncomfortable with society's expectation that she will be sexually active, as evidenced by her discomfort with the lacy panties and bras featured colorfully in both the film and the novel. The adults in the novel, both parents and teachers, seem to wield their sexuality as weapons of influence and intimidation. Notably, there is the female teacher who is having an affair with a male student, and the boy's stepmother, who makes him uncomfortable with her questions and flaunting of her womanly body. The precocious elementary-school boy, impersonating a married housewife/prostitute, is very funny, and his acting is flawless.

The weakness of this film is the slow pacing. There were numerous overly long interludes with repetitive music playing and nothing much happening. During these moments I was often tempted to pause it and go do something else. It should have been more tightly edited, even if it would have resulted in a shorter film. Since the novel itself was so short, rather than the usual impression of a long book being ruthlessly cut for film, you have the feeling that a short story was stretched out to fill a feature-length movie, without much original content added.

The reason I personally like both the novel and the film is that I do think it's possible to reset your life ("Install" yourself) by unconventional means, having new experiences that allow you to start over, feeling okay about life again. I think this story has a message of hope, delivered in a humorous way, for people overwhelmed by apathy towards the chore of everyday life.

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Witty

Install takes... shall we say... a unique look at a girl's budding sexuality. Based on Risa Wataya’s 2001 coming of age novel "Install" the film follows the life of Asako (Aya Ueto), a girl who's not only trying to cement her own personal identity, but who is also dealing with some tragic loses at school. In order to find her way Asako begins to play hooky and eventually crosses paths with her 10-year-old neighbour Aoki (Ryunosuke Kamiki) who takes a broken home PC off Asako's hands for a very unorthodox reason. It runs out that Aoki has taken over an online sex chat room for a internet friend who has just had a baby, but he needs a second pair of hands to make sure the site runs smoothly. He turns to Asako who very quickly comes face to face with her burgeoning sexuality while chatting with toal strangers online. See what I mean about "Install" never getting a North American release? Yes, the film is a minefield of ethical and moral issues, but it never takes the path that one would think it would. There's no predatory pedophiles, no abuse and no cautionary finger-wagging. It sounds hard to believe but "Install" is a smart and often very funny look at one young woman's transition from the girlhood to the complexity, grief and possibilities of adulthood.

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"Install" is a bizarre, colorful-wacky comedy

"Install" is a bizarre, colorful-wacky comedy about the drama of life itself and oftentimes resembles a dream. Nevertheless, this movie based on Wataya Risa's novel of the same name, manages to realistically shed some light on the exceptional and sometimes alienating windings in life. The two main characters seem to be taken out of real life, especially because of their odd peculiarities, and moreover they make it very amusing for the viewer to accompany them on their search for knowledge and "enlightenment".

The story of "Install" is brought to us by Asako, who also operates as the narrator. She always tells us her thoughts and feelings, this way managing to weave a strong bond to the viewer. With her reflective and yet sometimes wacky nature Asako is quite a cutie. Nonetheless, you easily believe her that she doesn't get along with life and feels incredibly lonely in this world. Her inner emptiness and the meaninglessness of her actions may seem familiar to some of us. There surely is no one who doesn't know the feeling that there is no sense in living or rather no goal to achieve, when we somehow end up at a dead end on our journey of life.
Aya Ueto gives it her best shot as Asako and proves that beside playing the cool, and coldblooded assassin in "Azumi" she can also take on other roles. Now, she actually can be a teenager and gets to display all facets of juvenile emotions in all of its wacky forms and colors.

Moreover, there is Ryunosuke Kamiki who is giving a great performance as little Aoki. His occasionally indifferent and pretentious articulation just conceals the rather playful core of a 10 year old boy. Nevertheless, his precociousness is played very convincingly, and inevitably we have to give his words special weight, because of the way he behaves. It's him who is actually educating Asako, but doing so he also learns a lot for himself. It's fascinating to see how this little boy makes the impression to be more mature than 17-year old Asako. The friendship that builds up between them is unusual and nothing to forget so soon. Without a doubt it's the two main actors who make this movie so worthwhile.

The world of "Install" looks artificial and fairy-tale-like. Adding to this fact are not only some very beautiful sets and camera angles, for example the inside of a clock tower, but also the cinematography in general. With cheerful and bright colors, a crisp picture and a repetitive, almost unnerving tootle-like jingle soundtrack the film drags us into a world, that couldn't be more different from reality. The protagonists sometimes behave somewhat odd, too, maneuvering themselves into the most disconcerting situations. Yet, the movie never feels "wrong", since it only tries to be a representation or symbolization of life as it really is. Furthermore, even the title is a metaphor. When you don't get along with life anymore and everything seems to go wrong, you just have to make free space on your hard disk and re-install the operating system!
There is a nice scene, when Asako vacates and clears her room, since by doing so she also metaphorically restarts her life or refocuses - formating her hard disk, so to speak! Aoki is the operating system, with whose help she restarts her life / the computer. Of course, this may be over-interpretation, but the fact is that "Install" tries to convey a message, which is to have the courage to make a new beginning and restart, when everything in life doesn't seem to make any sense anymore.

In a subplot Asako also learns a lot about sex and the sexual pervertedness of some performing individuals. It's not only funny to see 10-year old Aoko teach Asako the facts of life, but his "enlightened" mind more than once is also the reason for some really good laughs. The lightheartedness with which the serious problems of life are approached while at the same time the stage for some good gags is set, is definitely one of the film's upsides. Even though the movie might have some lengths and storywise there also might not be happening that much on screen, the flick can be quite entertaining, because of its wackiness and almost comic-like nature.

"Install" is a quite, yet colorful and life-affirming drama/comedy mix, that can score with its two great lead actors and a nice message. If one would have avoided some of the many lengths, then this one could have had what it takes to be a little gem. However, for movie-lovers, who are looking for a slightly "different" movie this one is definitely recommendable!

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I honestly don’t know what to think about this movie. I can’t say I dislike it nor like it. It’s one of those movies which is really hard to explain. Some people seems to like it in imdb while others hate it. One thing I can say is that the main cast are really good. Ueto Aya conveys the emotion of a bored teenage girl brilliantly. Kamiki Ryunosuke as this little pervert boy still looks as innocent as a normal little boy. The chemistry between the two of them makes the movie watchable.

BTW, I wonder how had Ryu-chan's mother managed to control her 11 year old boy from not turning into a real pervert when he had already touched woman’s breasts at such an early ag

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