2023 JAPAN CUTS: FESTIVAL OF NEW JAPANESE FILM REVIEW!
Shiori Utsumi (Saori Mori), better known to her customers as Ringo, is a call girl, and she’s just overheard a conversation that is surprisingly important to her. She overhears another woman talk about her dreams of becoming a musician, and in that moment Shiori is transported back to a time when she, too, had dreams, when she, too, believed that she could be something more. Detouring Blue is a short film that explores the depths of sexuality and all of its components.
While I understand what’s happening, it’s not made abundantly clear the transition between the past and the present–and I believe that this will create something of a disconnect between viewers and Detouring Blue from time to time. Viewers get a lot of back and forth, and we aren’t given a lot of time to evaluate exactly what is happening as the film transitions between the past and the present. I get that bright lights or other familiar transitions can be a tad cheesy, and that the initial reception might be negative–but as a result of the familiarity viewers would have been able to quickly and more effectively grasp the change in time. Viewers are smart, and I think they are typically able to catch up–but losing a minute or two of Detouring Blue, a short film, can be detrimental to the viewing experience. Having to play catch up here isn’t good for the product, even if it doesn’t ultimately ruin the film.
It seems that the central theme of Detouring Blue is sex, but the topic is approached subtly and tactfully. Honestly, the topic is barely talked about at all–and yet it’s known by the viewer that Ringo and her friend Lemon (Ami Kamimura) are call girls and that the root of their struggles come from this part of their lives. We are pulled into the world of sex work, but in a way that doesn’t deal so much with sex, but the emotional toll that it can take on those participating in it. We effectively become wrapped up in this emotional journey that both characters are a part of, but Director Ryo Kimura does a wonderful job of keeping sex and emotion separate throughout. He’s not trying to glorify it, and I don’t think he’s trying to hinder it or shed an unfavorable light on it either–I think he just wants to address that it exists and then allow viewers to take it from there.
Such a beautiful juxtaposition between light and dark exists throughout the entirety of Detouring Blue. In the moments of hardship and struggle, physical darkness is present. However, in those flashbacks viewers are introduced to a beautiful seascape supplemented by bright, vibrant light. There’s never any chance to confuse the emotional state of the characters–and light helps to bring that to life. In the closing seconds of the film we get something of a blend of light and dark. As the characters seem to have determined the direction in which they will head from now on, they find themselves, still fully enveloped in the night, standing before a backdrop of powerful city lights that help to illuminate them. In this moment we are intended to feel optimistic, like the friends have finally found themselves in a way, and Detouring Blue showcases this shift using light, just like it always had. In this semi-ambiguous moment (because we are never really told how to feel or what to think here–we only assume), the combination of light and dark provides viewers the opportunity to perceive the film however they see fit. Detouring Blue can end on a high note, or it tells us that once we’ve chosen a path we are stuck with it. I believe that Kimura is more than okay with viewers being unsure of which way to lean, even though it seems that he has a particular ending in mind.
Detouring Blue is a dark drama that centers on sex, but uses emotion to bring the story of these two women to life. It almost beats around the bush in the best possible way in this regard–and it constantly finds ways to appeal to viewers. It wades out into some choppy waters in the beginning, as it initially makes it a bit difficult for viewers to understand the timeline–but it quickly bounces back, dives headfirst into emotion, and uses light to tell a compelling story. Detouring Blue may take a minute or two to really get the ball rolling, but when it finds its footing it’s beautiful.
Written & Directed by Ryo Kimura.
Starring Saori Mori, Mai Hikagedate, Ami Kamimura, Koto Ishikawa, Hiroshi Yamada, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
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