this movie is a slow paced slice of life romance riddled with subtle acting moments. it's told in vignettes of interactions between the two main high schoolers, and truly feels like young stupid children who are either bad at communicating and or extremely selfish, fucking each other over repeatedly, which i don't mind. i think the point of it is to evoke that sense of confusion many of us felt when we had romantic feelings toward someone who also really annoyed us. the dialogue is for the most part, really believable for a few high schoolers that don't know how to synthesize their emotions yet.

this movie has an absolutely gorgeous soundtrack. really quite playful and transient, just like high school is. the visuals are slow and feel wonderfully summery.

i know a lot of people watched this movie and thought it was going to be gay, and i understand why. it starts off where you see the main boy character would do anything for his boy bff, and sows the seeds of jealousy when the bff boy char shows interest in the main girl. but look..... there's literally no screen time from that bff boy for the rest of the entire movie up until the very VERY end. while i agree it could have been a fantastic queer film, and probably way more interesting as one, that would require writing a WHOLE NEW SCRIPT where that character is actually in it. so, that's not what this is. i would argue its a het romance with queer undertones, as in the main character could definitely be queer, but it's ultimately not about that.

its more about the confusion of being jealous and annoyed that your bff is smitten with a rude af girl, then interacting w her when she happens to be vulnerable repeatedly, being frustrated at yourself for falling for her, being unsure of bc of bff who hasnt been on screen for ages still likes her, being an asshole to EVERYONE involved, and then coming to terms with your feelings.

that's a lot of thoughts on a film ive rated a 70 but i rated it "so low" because i do wish the main character was a bit more open and i dont feel like we got full clarity in his arc by the end bc of it. i wanted to see just a bit more clearly when he fell for the girl. i also feel its not quite a movie, its like youre watching a bunch of OVAs in a row (more on this in a sec). but i would still recommend it to friends with patience and who want to watch something that reminds them of being young and confused.

overall still a super solid piece :-) i like it when movies challenge the idea of what a movie really can be, and this definitely does that. because in the end, who says a movie cant just be a collection of experiences? who says the love interest has to be a likeable person? who says the main character has to be charismatic? i like that it tells a story about imperfect kids figuring their shit out.