BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 CALSCALE:GREGORIAN PRODID:adamgibbons/ics METHOD:PUBLISH X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VEVENT UID:20623@offbeat.amsterdam SUMMARY:Cinema Dérive - HARU 1996 DTSTAMP:20260409T193901Z DTSTART:20260419T170000Z DTEND:20260419T200000Z DESCRIPTION:Genre: Underground cinema\, Japanese\nLine up: Katsuhiko Aoki\, Kazuko Misawa\, Hikaru Suzuki\nOpen: 19:00 - 22:00 hrs\nTickets: € 3\n\nH ARU 1996\n(ハル)\nDirected by Yoshimitsu Morita\n118 minutes\nIn Japanese wi th English subtitles\n\nThis is an under-the-radar Japanese flick that dee ply struck the hearts and\nmemories of many people who had the chance to s ee it. What it captures is the\nfirst moment when the internet first enter ed the lives of a new generation\,\noffering the chance to communicate wit h people far away. It was a thrill\,\nespecially for those who were lonely . Of course you had a lot of weird stuff\nthat you had to navigate\, but t here was also the possibility of a striking\nintimacy of chatting with a p erson you had never met. This was about text-based\ncommunication\, before images were involved. For many this initial moment has\nbecome almost nos talgic\, especially when compared to what it quickly became\nafterward wit h the flood of social media and smartphones. In fact\, our two main\nchara cters both have dreary jobs that are totally offline\, so for them it's a\ nrelief that they can connect to another world.\n\nThe film moves along ca lmly as different threads of narrative become\nintertwined. One day our ma in character Hayami stumbles across a cinephile forum\non his computer. Hi s username is 'Haru". As he is drifting through that space\nand exchanging thoughts and ideas about different movies\, he connects with\nsomeone who se handle is 'Hoshi'. The film does follow them around in their real\nlive s\, but their online communication is typed in letters on the movie screen .\nIn this way\, a different kind of cinematic language is created\, givin g it a\ntotally different kind of feeling than any other movie... and a sp ecial kind of\ncharm is captured.\n\nAs the movie continues their communic ation takes centre stage\, and things unfold\nfrom there. Different themes are explored\, including traumatised lovers who\nturned to computers as a safer zone. Or how it is sometimes easier to confess\nsomething to a tota l stranger. It captures the moment when our society shifted\nto a new phas e... a kind of magic-realism vibe.\n\nNow let's be clear\, I wasn't born i n the 80s and never embraced computers and\nonline activity when I was you ng. I was among the left-wing generation\nprotesting against computer rese arch at American universities in the 1970s. We\nknew computers were being developed in cahoots with the military and would be\nused for surveillance and mapping out the population. Back then the idea of\nprivacy was precio us and connected to freedom. Therefore\, even well into this\ncentury I wa s one of the last people to have a computer. But I also understand\nmost p eople were unaware of that larger context and experienced the Internet as\ na kind of freedom. And even if I feel they were wrong - or we could say i nnocent\n- their emotions were real\, as well as their humanitarian impuls e. Not knowing\nanything about Darpa\, for them it was simply about connec tion - and that's what\nthis film is about.\n\nCINEMA DÉRIVE\nOvertoom 301 2nd floor - Ventilator space\nDoors open at 19:30\, film starts at 20:00 URL:https://offbeat.amsterdam/event/cinema-derive-haru-1996 GEO:52.3601403;4.8656923 LOCATION:OT301 - Overtoom 301\, 1054 HW Amsterdam STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:amsterdam-west,film,japanese,underground cinema,vondelparkbuurt X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Genre: Underground cinema, Ja panese
Line up: Katsuhiko Aoki, Kazuko Misawa, Hikaru Suzuki
Open: 19:00 - 22:00 hrs
Tickets: € 3

HARU 1996
(ハル)
Directed by Yoshimit su Morita
118 minutes
In Japanese with English subtitles

Th is is an under-the-radar Japanese flick that deeply struck the hearts and memories of many people who had the chance to see it. What it captures is the first moment when the internet first entered the lives of a new genera tion, offering the chance to communicate with people far away. It was a th rill, especially for those who were lonely. Of course you had a lot of wei rd stuff that you had to navigate, but there was also the possibility of a striking intimacy of chatting with a person you had never met. This was a bout text-based communication, before images were involved. For many this initial moment has become almost nostalgic, especially when compared to wh at it quickly became afterward with the flood of social media and smartpho nes. In fact, our two main characters both have dreary jobs that are total ly offline, so for them it's a relief that they can connect to another wor ld.

The film moves along calmly as different threads of narrative become intertwined. One day our main character Hayami stumbles across a ci nephile forum on his computer. His username is 'Haru". As he is drifting t hrough that space and exchanging thoughts and ideas about different movies , he connects with someone whose handle is 'Hoshi'. The film does follow t hem around in their real lives, but their online communication is typed in letters on the movie screen. In this way, a different kind of cinematic l anguage is created, giving it a totally different kind of feeling than any other movie... and a special kind of charm is captured.

As the mo vie continues their communication takes centre stage, and things unfold fr om there. Different themes are explored, including traumatised lovers who turned to computers as a safer zone. Or how it is sometimes easier to conf ess something to a total stranger. It captures the moment when our society shifted to a new phase... a kind of magic-realism vibe.

Now let's be clear, I wasn't born in the 80s and never embraced computers and online activity when I was young. I was among the left-wing generation protestin g against computer research at American universities in the 1970s. We knew computers were being developed in cahoots with the military and would be used for surveillance and mapping out the population. Back then the idea o f privacy was precious and connected to freedom. Therefore, even well into this century I was one of the last people to have a computer. But I also understand most people were unaware of that larger context and experienced the Internet as a kind of freedom. And even if I feel they were wrong - o r we could say innocent - their emotions were real, as well as their human itarian impulse. Not knowing anything about Darpa, for them it was simply about connection - and that's what this film is about.

CIN EMA DÉRIVE
Overtoom 301 2nd floor - Ventilator space
Doo rs open at 19:30, film starts at 20:00

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