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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL | Last update 8.Feb.26

All You Need Is Kill
Review by Rich Cline | 5/5

MUST SEE

dir Kenichiro Akimoto
scr Yuichiro Kido
prd Eiko Tanaka, Noriko Dohi, Keita Kodama, Atsushi Hasegawa, Emi Kashimura, Fumihiro Ozawa
voices Ai Mikami, Natsuki Hanae, Kana Hanazawa, Hiccorohee, Mo-Junior High School, Hayato Fujii
English voices Stephanie Sheh, Jadon Muniz, Lisa Kay Jennings, Cherami Leigh, Jonny Cruz, Dave Fennoy
release Jpn 9.Jan.26,
US 16.Jan.26, UK 13.Feb.26
25/Japan 1h26

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Beautifully animated in a lush, offbeat style, this anime alien-invasion thriller shares its source novel with the Tom Cruise hit Edge of Tomorrow. But this is a very different film, with a more introspective approach and more extravagantly colourful imagery. Filmmaker Kenichiro Akimoto has created an unusually immersive film that quickly gets under the skin, and the riveting storytelling puts us right in the middle of the action.

It's been a year since the gigantic tree-like alien Darol took root on Earth. Working on the team trying to bring it down, young soldier Rita (Mikami) is shocked when it emits flowers that kill everyone. But Rita wakes up again that morning, over and over again, giving her the chance to change her behaviour. Still, she can't outrun her own death, always returning to her morning alarm clock. So she begins using each day to learn more about Darol's true nature. And as she approaches her 100th rerun, she discovers that she's not alone.

It's instantly easy to sympathise with Rita, an outsider who struggles to get anyone to take her seriously. Her determination is almost startlingly inspiring, a person with below-average motivation rising to the challenge in such an impressive way. She keeps track of her lives by writing a number on the back of her hand, and as this number grows and grows she knows she will need to enlist help among the colleagues who belittle her. So it's thrilling when she meets the nerdy Keiji (Hanae), who is sharing her experience, and they begin working together.

This is visceral filmmaking that packs a wide range of breathtaking visuals and unusually complex characters into a brief running time. The design work is remarkably cinematic, even in the quieter scenes. Exhilarating, increasingly epic action sequences draw on the personalities of these plucky young people who help each other overcome their shy, selfish, cowardly natures to find a way through this situation.

"Death is on my side," Rita says, knowing each one will provide another lesson. This offers a striking counterpoint to her frustrated suicide attempt, which in turn reminds her of her troubled childhood. What Keiji helps Rita realise is that if she can change herself, she can change the world. And the story holds us tightly right to its twisty, staggeringly intense climax, which is completed with a gorgeously nuanced, moving final kick.

themes, language, violence 5.Feb.26

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