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Rebel Students Spark Nationwide Spectacle in Japan's "Coming of Middle-Age" Comedy
30 Oct
Summary
- Rising director Yuichiro Sakashita's new film Blonde satirizes Japan's restrictive school rules
- Protagonist is a meek teacher whose life unravels when students stage a "blonde-hair protest"
- Film explores the growing gulf between Japan's older and younger generations
In the lead-up to the 2025 Tokyo International Film Festival, rising 38-year-old director Yuichiro Sakashita is set to premiere his latest film, Blonde, in the festival's main competition. The film is a sharp, quietly damning satire that takes aim at the conformity and restrictive rules within Japan's education system.
Blonde centers on a meek junior-high teacher, played by popular singer-turned-actor Takanori Iwata, whose life unravels when his students stage a "blonde-hair protest" against the school's highly restrictive and outdated appearance policies. As the modest revolt rapidly morphs into a nationwide spectacle on social media, the protagonist is forced to confront his own apathy and lack of conviction.
Blending comedy and social commentary, Blonde builds upon Sakashita's well-received 2022 political farce The Sunday Runoff, exploring the growing gulf between the social mores of Japan's oldest and youngest generations. The film captures the absurdity of institutions built to maintain order, regardless of the obvious costs, and the indifference of the millennials caught in the middle.
Produced by Tokyo-based studio The Klockworx, Blonde marks Sakashita's most polished work to date, delivering what he calls a "coming of middle-age" comedy that resonates with the director's own fears about losing touch with the younger generation as he grows older.
