Jinsei

Jinsei has no name. All his life, his family, friends and even his enemies have nicknamed him Se-Chan, Kuro, Zen and even “God”. Though introverted, he stands out because he has hardly spoken since his mother’s death, which is why he is bullied and called “Death God” at school. Together with his stepfather, he drifts apathetically through life until his only friend persuades him to try his hand at being a pop star. Promptly taken under the wing of a talent agency, Jinsei’s rise to superstardom begins, but this is only the beginning of his story. We accompany Jinsei for 100 years and witness the fall of an icon, the rise of a god and the survival of a war.  

In 2022, “Jinsei” was successfully crowdfunded, and the abstract feature film was completed in just 18 months. There was no fixed script: Ryuya Suzuki, who created the work as the screenwriter, director and animator, says he simply “followed Jinsei’s life”. Suzuki’s solo debut project caused quite a stir in the Japanese indie scene, not least because of its multi-layered socially critical themes such as bullying in schools and society’s ignorance of this development, as well as the influence of money-hungry players in the music industry on young talent. But Suzuki also depicts envy, hubris and the pursuit of immortality in an unusual and therefore all the more impressive way, leaving viewers with food for thought long after the credits roll. (Dorian Duric)