Ride Your Wave (2019)

[きみと、波にのれたら]

Director: Masaaki Yuasa
Starring: Ryota Katayose, Rina Kawaei, Honoka Matsumoto

Synopsis:
When a surfer's firefighter boyfriend drowns in the ocean, she finds that she can call up his spirit in the water when she sings their song.

Impressions:
At first I wasn't sure how I was going to talk about two-thirds of the movie, as the original description I read was very vague about the story, but because the trailer spoils the first act twist, we can get right down to it. Also, if you're at all familiar with Japanese storytelling, you'd know that a romantic relationship that comes together so quickly and goes so well can't possibly last. What starts as saccharine lovey-dovey romance transitions into a study of grief and coping with a supernatural twist. Personally, I'd like it better if they kept it ambiguous whether or not Hinako was actually communicating with Minato's spirit, but it's fine that they play up the magical realism. The production values are rather good. As you would imagine for a film that features surfing, the animation of water is quite impressive. The characters can look a little off at times, but I think there may be some intentional invocation of the uncanny valley. Going back to the aforementioned first act romance, Hinako and Minato's duet of the main song with all the fumbling and giggling feels very genuine and quite sweet. While a number of the story beats are rather predictable, I nevertheless found this overall to be a charming and enjoyable film. Give it a watch.

Rating:
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