24/50
Follow a singer who dies suddenly while on tour in Japan, but her spirit lives on as she embarks on a journey to find humanity in the afterlife. The Singapore premiere, which is also the film’s Southeast Asian premiere, will be co-presented at the 40th vOilah! French Film Festival and Singapore International Film Festival. Spirit World is a multi-layered film that is essentially about two very human impulses; on the one hand, the creative instinct that drives artists and, on the other, the emotional need for family connections. At the very beginning of the film, we meet three characters with whom the two impulses, by definition, have lost touch. Singer-songwriter Claire (Deneuve), Yuzo (Sakai) – a former composer, now a piano tuner – and his estranged son Hayato (Takenouchi), an anime director whose best-known work seems to be behind him. For these three characters, this requires decisions and actions taken during and after death. of life, to find solutions to life’s unresolved problems. This is of course a very idealized view of this universal question: what happens when we die? The spirit world answers this question in a very realistic and concrete way. Letting go of the fear of the unknown and deciding to help the living, an altruistic quest that, for us, the protagonists, results in the realization of their own modest desires. It is an invigorating message from the spirit world: the creative impulse can bear fruit in healing family bonds when exercised with altruistic intention. From a technical standpoint, Spirit World ticks all the boxes when it comes to audience engagement. The likable performances take you through the beautiful countryside (and seascapes) of Takasaki and Chiba, providing pure eye candy and paying homage to the musical artists of the 60s and 70s, a golden age of creativity we may never see again. A sweet and heartfelt cinematic experience for anyone who has felt the pull of creativity and familial love.