Synopsis

Sumida, a young man confined to a wheelchair, drinks his life away in alcoholic splendor with his friend, Take. He is unable to speak, except through an electronic voice box. He is the object of pity among his friends and disgusting to those who don t know him. When a young girl temporarily becomes his caregiver to fulfill a school assignment, he mistakes her harmless flirtation for love. Her rejection of him sends him on a downward spiral of anger and revenge. Set against a background of aggressively experimental music, LATE BLOOMER breaks the taboos of characterization and builds a potent atmosphere of dread and unease.

Official Review

Aside from Lars Von Trier and the suits behind ABC’s long-defunct Life Goes On, very few players in the entertainment industry have given handicapped people the chance to play serious roles. Let’s be honest, midgets get far more movie and TV work than the physically or mentally disabled. That can probably be attributed to a collective fear of appearing exploitative, but director Go Shibata bravely eschews these common fears, as is evidenced by Late Bloomer, his carefully paced character study about a palsied cripple turned serial killer. …Read More