After spotting a strange kid putting the trash out in front of his apartment, young Miyako (Noriko Kijima) decides to investigate him when she fails to see any adult nearby. Learning the kid, Riku (Riku Oishi) doesn't have any connection to the fabled apartment, she tries to help him but ends up stumbling upon a far more deadly situation than she imagined.
For the most part, there was a lot to like with this short. One of the best elements on display is the, mostly from the real-life basis of the story, that the intriguing storyline is quite enjoyable. The filth-stricken environment, with the mountains of dirt, used garbage and just general unkempt area that the boy lives in the apartment are enough to get an idea of his living conditions before adding on the decrepit location which is falling apart, completely overfilled with trash collected everywhere and on the verge of breaking apart. These are captured perfectly into creating a believable setting when this starts to play with her psyche about whether or not the kid is even there. Playing nicely on the idea of the mother's instincts to rescue trapped or endangered children, hearing the pleas for help or witnessing the texts messages that tell a far more dangerous truth than expected on her phone creates quite an impression.
Where this tends to fall apart is the finale, which is quite surprising. Telling the story about the abusive parents who are fighting in the apartment while the kid struggles to stay alive, this part of the short is completely at odds with the rest of the segment. Supposedly based on the final argument between the parents who are too busy to notice their dying son take their last breaths around them, this makes very little sense. That it takes place in modern-day surroundings showing the garbage pile-ups and modern-day surroundings contradicts the ending scroll that retells the true history of what happened to the kid. That scroll, based on the real-life exploits of the events, leads into the belief that no one was home to witness the kids' fateful last words yet that's not true at the end of the short which gets by incredibly well on the heartbreak of the concept as well as the gruesome make-up on the dead child. However, this is a minor quibble and overall the short is disturbing and emotionally relevant.
This was originally published on Asian Movie Pulse and is gratefully reprinted with their cooperation.
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