Falling from a world that has rejected her, a calm, mild-mannered and able student ultimately becomes lost in this modern tragedy, which aims to rebel against the normalized idealism of youth and family, and instead bravely adventures to illustrate the creation of what appears to be a failed throwaway teen.
Though intelligent, considerate, and full of potential, too bad for them; because they’re in the wrong place at the wrong time. Schoolgirl Kita’s prospects are a wreck before they even have a chance to develop: her father is dead, their mother is a mess, and once she starts skipping school to discover the real world, that’s when she discovers the real world.
This new place of adulthood doesn’t have much more to offer than the previous one. Along her way, Kita befriends a rogue who makes a living from extorting innocent drivers and a misfit who lives in an industrial wasteland. Though distant, short-lived and fleeting, these seem to be the most sincere and precious friendships of her adolescence.
The majority of the tale is coldly told without dialogue. Language is used as sparingly as possible. When used, it’s icy and grave. Instead of using an overt narrative, most of the story is spoken through human movement against a backdrop of silence and calm, forcing the viewer’s appeal to their own empathy in order to make sense of the situation.
It’s clear there is a fascination to explore the outcasts of society and how they are born. Kita has no chance in this life. This is an intoxicating horror of the ordinary where there’s no riddle to be solved or encryption to be decoded. There’s no moral of the story here – and there is no need to be. Sometimes lives just turn out bad.
Captivating and incredible, Harmful Insect may be a slow burner, but it’s a brutal watch about isolation and realism all the same. Portraying depravity without being depraved, displaying loss without becoming lost, and capturing the heartbreaking destruction of a life with all the unfortunate moments that made it fateful, it skillfully grasps the harshest and most difficult topic of all – everyday life.
7/10
Possession Media 