A modest early release of 2005, Install is a light comedy and drama, appealing to young adults viewers and perhaps even all ages alike. Based on the novel by Risa Wataya, the film tells the story of a 17-year old girl named Asako, the emptiness of her life during those lost teenage years, and her life’s reset spurred on by a chance encounter with a precocious elementary school boy--far more gifted with technology than she.
On a whim one day, Asako throws away literally everything in her room until it’s empty. While she lies on the sidewalk among her trash, the boy, Aoki, asks if he could take Asako’s “broken” computer, and she easily agrees. He gets it working and connected to the Internet, and soon thereafter, he proposes a job offer to the aimless Asako who recently started skipping school.
Asako agrees and the two innocents enter a strange world of online sexual deviancy when they begin to fill in for a cyber-sex housewife on an adult site. They earn money for chatting with strange men during the day and Asako seems to find some excitement in day-to-day life again. However, that only remains a small part of the film. It never becomes a true danger and there is no real antagonist to the plot. The film just lounges around, feels longer than it actually is and leisurely tells a quirky story about adolescence to which most viewers can relate.
It’s an odd film of sorts, sometimes seeming like a Wes Anderson film with its glossy, artificial movie-world style complete with peppy, synthesized music, vivid colorful sets and crisp, still cinematography. In spite of this apparent tone, our two protagonists are surprisingly natural and believable in their range of emotions—they aren’t defined by the look of their surroundings. This compliments the state of both characters as well, where on the surface, they seem to have fine lives with friends and a healthy home situation, but under all of that, they are lonely on some level, dreary in the colorful world that surrounds them.
And of course, there’s that metaphor underlying the entire film of the ability to reset, just re-install your operating system and start again fresh. Asako and Aoki have problems from their past to deal with and the film touches upon them to give the audience perspective, but the story never delves in to make it a primary concern.
The film is a simple dramedy about the two trying to find some happiness in their slow mundane lives and it works largely thanks to the interactions between stars Aya Ueto and Ryunosuke Kamiki. Fans of Ueto will be happy to see her nicer, normal side usually only in Japanese dramas, as she portrays a normal teenage girl instead of a cold samurai assassin. Kamiki also works perfectly as the cute, intelligent kid with amusing deadpan line delivery.
Despite the occasional humor, viewers may find the film runs a bit slow at times. There’s barely a plot, so events are occasionally stretched out for a little too long. The film, nor its message is hardly grandiose, but for the most part, the pic is worth the time for a warm, relatable friendship and some amusement. Viewers might find themselves picking up a habit or two from the main characters along the way.
Reviewed by Tarun
