Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on December 2009

This omnibus work attempts to capture the zeitgeist of the oughts by presenting three self-contained films from a trio of directors. Kumiko Hoshizaki’s “Akane Sasu Heya” is the story of Maki, a 20-something temp who is sick of her boring job and life in general. The rather bizarre solution she comes up with is to conceive a child behind her boyfriend’s back. Though the plot is quite realistic, this is a rather flaccid piece in which the consequences that befall Maki don’t match her transgression. Makoto Nagahisa offers the much more impressionistic “Frog.” The story meanders around a bunch of unrelated characters, using experimental techniques like repeated scenes, hallucinatory visuals, blurred shots and disconnected sounds. Throw into the mix a religious nut and the surreal appearance of a frog at key times, and you get a disjointed film that’s nevertheless successful in creating a mood of disorientation. Lastly, we have “Bouquet Garni,” a much more conventional work from director Junpei Hatano. The plot is centered on a reporter, the relative of a kidnapping victim, and a woman who is obsessed with the case. Though less expressive of contemporary anomie, this segment has the most dramatic power. In all, Zero Nendai Zenkei may be flawed, but it does engender the feeling of fragmentation that was apparently its aim.