Look Back is a beautiful coming-of-age movie about two girls who share a passion in drawing, and is based on the critically acclaimed one-shot manga written by Tatsuki Fujimoto in 2021. This 57-minute short movie somehow moved me so much that I (someone who doesn't watch movies too often) went back to theaters a second time to bawl my eyes out and wrote a blog post about it. I believe the movie speaks to artists, creators, or maybe anyone who's been passionate or ambitious, and helps them look back upon their motivations, joys, and pains of ernestly working on something.
Note: This post contains mild spoilers about the movie Look Back [Trailer]. The film is now streaming on Amazon Prime, so if it sounds interesting please go check it out!
Brief synopsis (mild spoilers)
The story centers around Fujino, an outgoing girl who is praised for the comic strips she draws for her elementary school class newsletter. One day, her teacher asks if she can share the comic strip space on the newsletter with Kyomoto, a shut-in girl who doesn't come to school. While Fujino snarkily accepts sharing the space with Kyomoto, thinking that a shut-in can't be any better than her, she quickly finds out that Kyomoto's art is exceptionally better than hers. Frustrated by this, Fujino immerses herself into improving her art. Despite her efforts, Fujino realizes she cannot reach Kyomoto's level, and quits drawing.
On graduation day, Fujino meets Kyomoto, who reveals herself as Fujino's biggest fan. The two form a strong bond as they start to draw together.
Many years pass and an adult Fujino regrets drawing. But, Fujino revisits her shared passion with Kyomoto and returns to draw manga.
(The latter paragraphs are purposefully shortened to avoid spoilers.)
Thoughts
This short movie seems so simple from its synopsis, but I believe Look Back's subtleties are what makes it special. The movie (and its original manga) intentionally minimizes the amount of dialogue to draw their audience inwards through the characters' facial expressions, movement, music, and the silence in between. The silence makes the hard-hitting moments hit even harder, especially in the ending sequence before the absolutely ethereal theme song enters. The music also adds to the nostalgic, bittersweet ambience of the film by incorporating timbres like the muted piano or the accordion.
Look Back speaks of the complexities of passion through the juxtaposition of its two main characters. Fujino's motivations often stem from external validation from her family and teachers, and her jealousy towards Kyomoto's stunning artwork. Even in the moment that Fujino picks up drawing again, it's driven from the praise given by her self-perceived biggest rival. And while we subtlely understand that these external motivators are probably not the only reasons Fujino takes up drawing manga so passionately, they still stand out. But, it's also not too difficult to understand where Fujino was coming from; after all, she is a child who was doing her best.
On the other hand, while Kyomoto started drawing out of boredom, we see that she has a more "pure" motivation towards art. Kyomoto not only appreciates Fujino's mangas, but also the field of background art. While she is slower at drawing than Fujino, she produces art that captures the subtleties of the views around her. For Kyomoto, art (and her work with Fujino) also drove her to take a step outside, leave her home, and eventually follow her dreams.
In the course of this short film, we see both characters continue drawing through joyful and painful moments. Look Back doesn't hold back its punches on depicting the sadness and frustration that both characters experience. But, it also ernestly shines on the exciting and happy moments as well.
Ultimately, as with many things in life, maybe passion cannot be distilled into a single essence. Look Back doesn't aim to declare either Fujino and Kyomoto's motivations as superior, but instead celebrates both of their passions, and their precious friendship that blossomed from those passions, through beautiful music and sequences.
Why do we spend time, energy, and effort into things, even when doing so could be sometimes painful? I hope that if you watch this movie, you'll find your own reasons why, and get to celebrate them.