"Opposites attract" is one of those truisms easy to dismiss — until they turn out to be true. Take the sensitive, arty beta-male guy whose sensitive, arty female soulmate ends up with an alpha-male cowboy — or the nearest urban equivalent. Also, the attraction of opposites is not always mutual: Would that famous, talented beauty you ask to pose with average-Jane you for a selfie ever ask you to do the same? Maybe not.
The central relationship in Natsuka Kusano's debut feature "Rasen Ginga (Antonym)" seems to fit the latter template. Aya (Yuri Ishizaka) is one of those fashionable women who exude arrogance even when strap-hanging on the morning commute. Meanwhile, her co-worker Sachiko (Asami Shibuya) is a gawky introvert who is perpetually apologizing for her existence. Sachiko admires Aya for her ambition to become a scriptwriter, though she is only attending a night class. Aya, who has yet to sell any of her scripts, reacts to Sachiko's praise with barely disguised scorn.
The winner of the Nippon Visions Award at last year's Nippon Connection film festival (which this writer co-presented as a jury member), the aptly titled "Antonym" may sound like a clash-of-opposites comedy, but it tells its story with a completely straight face. The result is a fresh, incisive take on a common if little-filmed type of relationship, especially in hierarchy-loving Japan.