Metrograph Pictures has acquired North American distribution rights to the debut feature film from Japanese director Neo Sora Happy endinga high school delinquency drama with undertones of political dystopia. The film proved a hit with critics at the Venice Film Festival, where it premiered earlier this week in the event's Horizons section.
After the debut in Venice, Happy ending is headed to the Toronto International Film Festival, the Busan International Film Festival, and the New York Film Festival. Monograph says it will release the film in U.S. theaters next year. Outside the U.S., the title is being repped by sales company Magnify.
Happy ending It is Sora's first feature-length fiction film, but last year he was in Venice with the documentary, Opuswhich immortalizes the last performance of his late father, Japanese music icon Ryuichi Sakamoto.
The Hollywood ReporterLeading critic David Rooney reviewed Happy ending earlier this week, writing, “Sora strikes an expert tonal balance between the bittersweet and elegiac qualities of end-of-school drama” while “bringing a light but lingering touch to larger fears that affect us all.”
Set in a near-future Tokyo, Happy ending follows two best friends who are about to graduate from high school amid the threat of a catastrophic earthquake. After playing a prank on their principal that leads to the installation of a high-tech surveillance system at their school, they find their friendship tested by their conflicting views on how to respond to an increasingly oppressive political climate engulfing Japan.
Sora said in a statement: “I made this film imagining what the near future might be like, drawing parallels to Japan's history of earthquakes that have exposed social contradictions. Much of this film comes from my own experiences growing up in New York, and the friendships that have been instrumental in my life. I can't wait to see how the film connects with audiences in the U.S.”
Added Metrograph Pictures head David Laub: “Neo Sora is such an exciting new cinematic voice, and Happy ending is a bold, unique and deeply resonant film. It is set in the near future, but it is really about our lives right now. Neo has created a touching and often funny story of friendship and coming of age set in a remarkably fresh and surprising world. We are thrilled to be working with Neo and releasing this one-of-a-kind film.”