Iwai Shunji utilises magic realism and sly comedy to fashion a tale that starts out whimsical but slowly builds towards deeply moving. Sato Takumi watches empty days spread before him during Covid-19 lockdown, and decides to buy a kaiju capsule and raise it as his own. In this parallel universe where kaiju and aliens are everyday occurrences, Sato tracks the progress of his oddly evolving kaiju through a video blog. He also takes notes from a YouTuber growing her own kaiju, with better results. Higuchi Shinji pretty much plays himself, a kaiju expert advising Sato on the various stages of his project. The plot is given dark shades when it seems the kaiju may actually become something that could hurt, rather than help, humanity.
Sato carries this film with a note-perfect performance that is, on reflection, quietly hysterical. His range here is broad but subtly conveyed, his expressions to camera always plausible, including 'kaiju-envy.' The final evolution of the kaiju reveals the 'message' of the film, though not in stark terms, so you'll be discussing quite what it all means with your movie-going partner after it ends.
Not everything works. Two cutaways don't quite come off. The first, shots of an elevated camera trawling empty streets are mundane. If the effect is to show how Corona has emptied the city, then choosing streets that are regularly empty is rather self-defeating. The second, Iwai's music as BGM to experimental dance, is slightly more cinematic, but largely underwhelming. Sato's performance is simply brilliant, but Higuchi is also charming in his bemusement. Moeka Hoshi delights in a parody of the YouTuber aesthetic, delivering commentary from a bathtub. Rena Nonen holds her end up, but So Takei is less convincing.
Godzilla often shows up to show humankind the errors of our ways, and in sci-fi the aliens often play the same role, Or simply save us. In real life, we have to look to ourselves to overcome the threats we face. We all need a gentle reminder of that truth from time to time.
