In Theaters 09.12.2025

Happyend

Directed by Neo Sora
Film Movement
2024
113 Minutes
Japan, USA, Singapore, United Kingdom
Japanese
Drama, Coming of Age, Asian
Not Rated
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Best friends Yuta and Kou are about to graduate high school in a near-future Tokyo where the threat of a catastrophic earthquake pervades daily life. One night, they pull a consequential prank on their principal, which leads to a surveillance system being installed in the school. Between the oppressive security system and a darkening national political situation, Kou feels increasingly frustrated with the world while Yuta seems completely unaware. Finding an empathetic ear in a passionate student activist, Kou’s political consciousness blossoms. Assuming that Yuta would never understand his newfound interests, Kou begins to
avoid his friend. For the first time in their lifelong friendship, the two are forced to confront differences that they never had expressed before.

Director & Cast

  • Director: Neo Sora
  • Starring: Hayato Kurihara
  • Starring: Yukito Hidaka
  • Starring: Yuta Hayashi
  • Starring: Shina Peng
  • Starring: Arazi
  • Starring: Kilala Inori
  • Starring: Pushim
  • Starring: Ayumu Nakajima
  • Starring: Makiko Watanabe
  • Starring: Shiro Sano

Where to Watch

Trailer

Photos

Reviews

  • "The movie never loses sight of the personal, involving us from the start in the experiences of Yuta, Kou and their friends, while bringing a light yet lingering touch to larger fears affecting all of us.... A sure-footed movie that is set in the future but fully plugged into global political anxieties of the present."
    David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
  • "Sora displays a subtly fervent faith in music as perhaps the ultimate expression of nascent individuality, and therefore, ever and eternally, a threat to regimes that rely on conformity and obedience."
    Jessica Kiang, Variety
  • "Happyend is carried by the sincerity of its characters and their affection for each other."
    David Ehrlich, IndieWire
  • "The best... is Neo Sora’s fiction feature debut, following quickly on the heels of his highly acclaimed doc about his father, “Ryuichi Sakamato: Opus.” He proves to have an incredibly confident eye, shooting his young performers in Tokyo against a backdrop of concrete roads and buildings in a manner that’s both mesmerizing and slightly terrifying."
    Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com
  • "A crisp and understated piece, with Bill Kirstein’s cinematography making the most of nocturnal cityscapes and of sterile empty spaces in the school classrooms and corridors…. A gentle, piano-based score by Lia Ouyang Rusli carries its own echoes of Sakamoto stateliness, not over-reverentially but with grace."
    Jonathan Romney, Screen Daily
  • "That fertile tension—between the film’s concerns with a dystopian future and its faith in something as ancient as our capacity to organize and resist—is Happyend’s prime success, and what accounts for its rebellious spirit."
    Leonardo Goi, MUBI Notebook
  • "We see so much in each of these scrappy young kids that is being smothered yet still bursting free, with all of the ensemble giving some of the most naturalistic youth performances you’ll see in a film all year."
    Chase Hutchinson, The Wrap
  • "Its propulsion and vivacity comes from the ensemble cast of capable youngsters and is further amplified by a phenomenal score from Brooklyn-based composer Lia Ouyang Rusli."
    Savina Petkova, The Film Stage
  • "It's hard not to come away loving each and every character, and—as the world spins out of control—wishing they could stay together."
    Siddhant Adlakha, JoySauce.com
  • "Sora’s deft cocktail of teen angst and invasive technology, ruled over by a deeply prejudiced regime that is predisposed to scapegoating its youth, feels ripped from both today’s headlines and the pages of a bestselling manga."
    James Marsh, South China Morning Post
  • "Sora shrewdly uses that warm feeling of nostalgia to layer in his more serious points about freedom in the real world. “Happyend” gives you plenty to smile about as you’re leaving the theater, and even more to think about on the way home."
    Tom O'Brien, Next Best Picture
  • "Happyend presents itself as both a highly allegorical political tale and the coming of age story of two boys whose friendship evolves as they grow into themselves – and it absolutely succeeds at being both."
    Serena Seghedoni, Loud and Clear Reviews
Winner
Best Screenplay
QCinema Int'l. Film Festival
Winner
Young Cinema Award
Asia Pacific Screen Awards
Winner
Best Newcomer
Asian Film Awards
Winner
Youth Jury Dragon Award
Göteborg Film Festival
Winner
Jury Award
Pingyao Int'l. Film Festival
Nominated
Venice Horizons Best Film
Venice Film Festival
Nominated
Sutherland Award
London Film Festival
Official Selection
New York Film Festival
Official Selection
Toronto Int'l. Film Festival
Official Selection
Seattle Int'l. Film Festival
Official Selection
Busan Int'l. .Film Festival
Official Selection
Melbourne Int'l. Film Festival

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