A DAY ON THE PLANET

Just like his earlier work, GO, Isao Yukisada’s latest film is another youth drama. Based on a novel by Tomoka Shibasaki, who western readers might well describe as a pop writer, Yukisada’s ensemble film brings together the cream of Japan’s up and coming young actors.
Masamichi is about to take up post-graduate studies; he has invited six friends for a farewell dinner and so the group come together to spend the evening in his apartment. All of his friends are students; they include Nakazawa, a budding filmmaker who is about to embark upon his first film project; Masamichi’s enchanting girlfriend, Maki and his best friend, Kate, who spends the whole evening ogling Kawachi. This pretty, gamine young girl succeeds in intimidating the young man completely. One reason for this is the fact that she ignores Masamichi’s other guests, the rather down-at-heel Nishiyama and the pretty much off-the-wall Sakamoto.
The group eat and drink, managing to polish off quite a few bottles. But the night is still young. On the television news they hear reports of a stranded whale and a man stuck between two buildings. It’s an ordinary evening in which nothing in particular occurs and yet, there’s so much happening. Capturing a series of brief yet valuable moments in time, the film portrays the kind of trivial events that are somehow so important for life on this planet.