On-Gaku: Our Sound
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Feature
On-Gaku: Our Sound
Grand Prize, Best Animated Feature! – 2019 Ottawa International Animation Festival
3 Shows Only!
This film is preceded by the short film Make it Soul
When you’re a bored teenager looking for thrills, sometimes the only thing you can turn to is rock ‘n roll. Having no skill, money, or even a full set of drums, a feared trio of high school delinquents nevertheless decide they are destined for musical glory in a quest to impress their only friend Aya, avoid a rival gang, and – most importantly – jam out. Animated almost entirely by director Kenji Iwaisawa, and featuring a lead performance by Japanese alt-rock legend Shintaro Sakamoto, ON-GAKU: OUR SOUND brings its own sound and vision to the Hiroyuki Ohashi manga from which it was adapted. With pitch-perfect deadpan humor, the film presents a highly original take on the beloved slacker comedy: a lo-fi buddy film with a blaring musical finale that will leave you wanting an immediate encore.
Japan, 2019, 85 minutes, Not Rated, In Japanese with English Subtitles, Directed by Kenji Iwaisawa
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“Incredibly compelling and deeply endearing. Sequences of beautifully stylized, awe-striking animation that delight and surprise…also one of the funniest films I think I’ve seen all year.”
– Chris Luciantonio, FILM PULSE -
“A stairway to rockers’ heaven…upends all that is typical in Japanese animation.”
– Maggie Lee, VARIETY -
“5-Stars! An instant classic. So fresh and distinctive, your immediate impulse is to stand up and applaud it.”
– James Hadfield, THE JAPAN TIMES -
“Unambiguously punk as hell.”
– David Ehrlich, INDIEWIRE
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