Burn(Enjo)

Seven years after his acclaimed feature debut We Are Little Zombies (43rd), Nagahisa Makoto returns with this hyper-stylised tale of wounded youths struggling in the margins of an unforgiving society. After fleeing her abusive religious parents, teenager Jurie finds companionship in fellow misfits at the seedy neighbourhood of Kabuki-cho, only to find them pulling her closer to self-destruction instead of salvation. Without judging his damaged characters, Nagahisa’s empathetic film delves into the vast shadow that lies beneath the bright artifice of Tokyo, exposing the neglect and apathy that cause troubled youths to fall through the cracks. Employing his experience in advertising, Nagahisa creates a dreamlike and stunningly beautiful neonlit cinematic descent into hell.

Sundance Film Festival