Afternoon Breezes

Afternoon Breezes is one of those movies where I feel the need to remind people that objectivity doesn’t exist in reviews. Or, at least, not my reviews. I didn’t much care for Afternoon Breezes. But all the other reviews it that I read largely championed it. So, I’m not the majority opinion on this movie. My shitty attention span didn’t gel with it. And the fact that I watched a VHS transfer on YouTube probably means I didn’t get the best experience of the film.

The film is a depiction of obsessive lesbian love. Natsuko is in love with her roommate, Mitsu. But Mitsu is straight and has a boyfriend. Natsuko is increasingly unsubtle with her affection. Yet Mitsu perhaps actively avoids considering the possibility of Natsuko’s lesbianism. As Mitsu continues to ignore Natsuko’s more overt courting attempts, Natsuko becomes increasingly desperate and unstable. Natsuko is also incredibly threatened by Mitsu’s boyfriend, Hideo. When they don’t break up naturally, Natsuko schemes to break them up. But boyfriend or no, Mitsu doesn’t love Natsuko. And this impossibility wears more and more on Natsuko’s devolving psyche.

A problem I had with Afternoon Breezes is it never proved my snap judgment comparison of it wrong. In the first scene, I judged the movie to be like a combo of Je Tu Il Elle and Love/Juice. I really liked both those films. And Afternoon Breezes didn’t measure up. The influence of Chantal Akerman’s work on Afternoon Breezes’ style is obvious. But Je Tu Il Elle is a masterpiece of a cinematic cipher. Its mundane nature is loaded with precise, yet vague themes. Afternoon Breezes didn’t hit that mark for me. It also didn’t achieve whatever magic Love/Juice had. Mitsu and Natsuko’s relationship was never as watchably toxic as the roommates in Love/Juice. Plot-wise, the film is actually most similar to the 2004 film, Girlfriend. And it definitely is better than that movie. But is it more entertaining? More memorable? No. Afternoon Breezes didn’t even have any musical numbers!

Especially because this film was considered a landmark in lesbian representation in Japan, it’s disappointing to me that Afternoon Breezes is very much a film about an obsessive, unstable lesbian. It’s an admittedly interesting take on it. Far from being a sleazy thriller, it’s a minimalist drama. And it is sympathetic to Natsuko. The film spends more time in her head than in Mitsu’s. Natsuko’s existence is one full of ennui and outright depression. And only in the presence of Mitsu does that weight lift a little. Her possessive tendencies make her a tragic character more than a villain. But the film unavoidably does depict a very common and negative lesbian stereotype. It’s one that sometimes I can find fun. But Afternoon Breezes is not a movie for fun. So, I can’t do that either.

On the plus side, the minimalist filmmaking inherently means there’s less to critique. It’s not like there’s a dozen insane and flawed aspects to the movie. It’s too minimal for that. And its minimalism is pretty well-realized. Director Hitoshi Yazaki shows an impressive level of control and consideration into how he’s realized his film. The soundscape and how it ties into Natsuko’s mental state is a particular highlight of the film’s realization. Again, in a way that I respected it, but also disliked. I am fully aware that’s the point of the intrusive water drip-laden soundscape. Doesn’t mean I enjoyed experiencing it any more.

There are undoubtedly a lot of positives about Afternoon Breezes that went right over my head. It’s too easy to compare the film to better movies and find it lacking. But also, one can compare it to worse movies and find it boring. I’m very much not the audience for Afternoon Breezes. It’s slow and subtle yet also deals with a problematic lesbian stereotype. For this individual viewer, you can do one or the other of those things, but not both.

Overall rating: 5.4/10

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