Alice to Therese no Maboroshi Kōjō (アリスとテレスのまぼろし工場) opened in Japan on 15 September 2023. As the second film directed by Okada Mari (who is better known for her screenplays; Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms was her first work as a director), I was really interested in catching this movie when it was first announced. I originally planned to watch it at night, but as the weather forecast showed rain during that time, I got a ticket for the morning show instead. (Note: It poured in the evening, with lightning that even caused a short blackout.)
It was one of the first shows at the local theatre this morning, and I was surprised to see so many people there. But most of them were there for the new Pretty Cure movie. Only a handful were there to catch this movie. That's really a pity because this is actually a good movie and I hope it will gather more viewers over the course of its run in the theatres.
The story is about some junior high school students where became stuck in time after the steelworks at their hometown exploded. To avoid creating issues when time resumes, everyone conducts regular self-checks on themselves to make sure they remain the same as when time stopped.
If Maquia is a story about the relationship between a mother and her son, there is the element of mother's relationship with her daughter in this story. You know there is the trope about "I want to become Dad's bride when I grow up"? Well, here, we have a mother who tells her daughter in no uncertain terms that, it is me that your father loves, it is me that your father will think about as he lies on his deathbed, and it is your father whom I will be thinking about on my deathbed. Typical Okada Mari "soapy" stuff. There's more too, like love triangles. People who like this part of Okada Mari will really enjoy this movie.
In terms of messaging, I think we can get a hint from the setting of the story. It is set in 1991. You know, the year when the bubble burst in Japan. I think the story is trying to tell Japanese viewers that, after the bubble burst, Japan has remained stuck in time, unable to move forward. But the rest of the world continues to move with the time, and while it may be less painful to remain stuck in time, what are you really living for in such a world? And we can only remain stuck in time so long before our world falls apart. The key is to try and find a way forward, to join the real world again. Of course, this could just be me reading too much into this story.
As a writer, Okada Mari writes great stories. However, she is still very new in this business of directing, and it shows in this movie. Some scenes were a bit longer than required, and it all adds up to make the movie seem a bit more draggy. This stands out all the more because the story is good. An average story with average directing will feel average. But a good story with average directing will make the average directing stand out. That's the only thing that I feel was a bit lacking in this movie.
Hopefully, with time and word of mouth, more people will discover this movie and its beauty.
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