The Town of Headcounts

Pursued by loan sharks, Aoyama is rescued by a mysterious man in yellow overalls, who offers him the opportunity of a better life in an isolated, unnamed town - a perpetual holiday resort, controlled by airport-style security, sonic defences, and a code of conduct called “The Bible”. Part dystopian conspiracy thriller, part prescient societal warning, Shinji Araki’s stylised debut intelligently dissects society’s compulsion for instant gratification aand corporately-controlled decision-making. Do we want to live in a world where every need is catered for, but that’s also a prison of inauthentic morality?

‘The brutalist design of the town – really a bleak, concrete enclosure filled with sleeping quarters, fitness rooms, eating locations, and… other places – echoes Araki’s editing and direction. Long, slow shots occasionally get cut by single seconds of abject brutality. Periods of near-silence are used to smother, only worsened by when the silence stops. Similar to 1984 and Berkoff’s famous version of Kafka’s Metamorphosis, the one character who does bleed emotions stands out like a light in the darkness, for all the good that does her. These emotions seep into others, giving us hope in turn. But we know what Orwell taught us about hope, and Headcounts seeks to hammer that point home with its own jarring, quiet conclusion.’

VIFF review – Awesome Friday