“Hinotama: Ball of Fire,” the debut feature from Japanese filmmaker Yaza Takenoshin, follows young Takeshi (Riku Onishi) as he watches his parents’ marriage break down. The film is screening in the Nippon Cinema Now selection at the Tokyo Film Festival, which spotlights emerging Japanese filmmakers.
The story unfolds through everyday routines, from school tests to a mother counting groceries at checkout. As tensions at home grow, Takeshi becomes preoccupied with a “ball of fire” described by his old friend Akari (Himena Irei), hoping, perhaps, to recover some of his childhood wonder.
The film’s measured camerawork and patient attention to strained relationships reflect Takenoshin’s admiration for director Ryusuke Hamaguchi. Cinematographer Yoshio Kitagawa, who has worked with Hamaguchi, uses symmetry and the clean lines of the family home to create orderly images that gradually suggest confinement. Mari Kusu’s performance as Takeshi’s frustrated mother reinforces that feeling.
Takeshi’s father reveals his dissatisfaction in brief remarks that build into arguments, including a demand for respect and complaints that his children do not thank him. The family’s strained routine is captured in long takes and still compositions. When Takeshi jumps into a muddy puddle and ruins a pristine pair of sneakers, the sudden disruption stands out against the film’s earlier restraint.
Rather than immediately presenting the father as simply cruel, Takenoshin adds details over time, including his attempts to win the children’s support by invoking memories important to them. Onishi gives a subdued performance as Takeshi grows more withdrawn, with much of his unease emerging through his questions about the mysterious fireball.
The restrained style occasionally feels overemphatic, and a jump forward by three months shifts the film’s rhythm. Still, the story finds moments of pathos in younger brother Kento (Koe Odani), who is pushed to mature quickly and tries to ease his family’s distress. The film’s later turn toward allegory is less effective than its close observation of a family coming apart, but “Hinotama: Ball of Fire” remains a promising first feature.
Sources: Variety.