Masaaki Yuasa's "RIDE YOUR WAVE"
Review by Dennis D. McDonald
What starts out as a sweet boy-meets-girl rom-com evolves into a tragedy followed by grief recovery followed by all-out fantasy and weirdness. But we never lose touch with the sympathetic main characters while the animation throughout beautifully illustrates real-world naturalism as well as eye-popping spectacle.
It helps that the main characters are likeable and the English dubbing excellent. A college student obsessed with surfing gets an apartment by the ocean so she can ride the waves on a regular basis. She falls in love with a young firefighter after he rescues her from a burning building. After an idyllic romance the young man is drowned. The girl regresses to grieving with her coping method being her ability to conjure up the young man whenever she is near water.
As weird as that sounds the personalities and emotions of the girl’s acquaintences, including members of the late firefighter’s family. keep the story focused on emotion and personality and not just fantasy, action, or spirituality. There are occasional forays into ordinary events lovingly animated including simple cooking, coffee making, and fireworks. These all contribute to a sense of reality despite the film’s fantastic and occasionally weird elements. It’s an unusual film and I found it quite enjoyable.
Review copyright (c) 2023 by Dennis D. McDonald
