"Bad Boys" Have Tomorrow

Henri 2022-04-19 09:02:45

A bitter and reckless song of youth.

"Pony, are we finished yet?" "Fool, we haven't started yet!" I sighed in relief as the ending song produced by Joe Hisaishi played.

Looking back on our childhood, there were always two or three bad kids around. They play truant, fight, and bully disadvantaged classmates, causing headaches for teachers and parents. Over time, they slowly disappeared from the sight of teachers and parents, and no one cared or asked. Just as the teacher in the film calls the bad boys Pony and Xinzhi, the two are mentally handicapped, as if they don't deserve to be in the classroom and live a normal child's life. Obedient, quiet, and immersed in study, these are the labels of good children. Although many jokes in their daily life are created by bad children, they should rarely identify with those so-called bad children from the bottom of their hearts.

However, we gradually have to ask, where is the way out for those so-called good children? During their student days, they rode on a ride all the way, and some teachers and relatives opened up a bright road for them. When they drive down the road of society themselves, they are often surprised to find that the road is unexpectedly narrow and congested. A bachelor's degree or a master's degree is no longer a pass for a good job. They have lost their protection. Facing the dilemma of too many monks, they are as helpless and confused as children. Although some of these good children are outstanding, most of them are slowly turning into groups of highly educated poor people, both materially and spiritually.

Children have ideals. Strangely, the good kids who said they wanted to be scientists in the future were generally praised by their teachers. In fact, I'm afraid it's just because I want to be a scientist and I can get praise from my teacher. If a child enthusiastically says that he wants to be a boxer when he grows up, the teacher will most likely see him as a troublesome child. The so-called aspirations and ideals of innocent childhood can even be divided into three, six, nine and so on.

Bad boys have ideals too. In fact, they do not necessarily have an accurate ideal in their hearts. It is not so much an ideal as a determination and drive to do things. They rushed to the future world ahead of time, smashing around with the idea of ​​​​breaking out of the sky. Even if the ideal in front of them is as fragile as a piece of white paper, they dare to scribble and write their stories on the white paper. Come across cool things, try them.

Pony and Xinzhi, two typical bad boys. They don't go to the class, they ride a bicycle around the open space on campus all day long, and they disrupt the class with a prank on a whim. Outside the school, they blackmailed their classmates to collect change, burned the teacher's new car, went to watch adult movies together, and wandered around like two gangsters.

But in them, I see innocence that is hard to find in the adult world. Xiaoma is domineering and domineering, but when he learns that the classmate he bullies has only his mother to rely on, he turns his head to help the classmate bully his own little follower. He was just a child, a child who wanted to rush into the adult world, but he couldn't hide the pure and gentle side of his heart. In the cafe, the underworld boss gave the pony beer and cigarettes. He hurriedly thanked him, eager to join them in the next second and become a gangster wearing sunglasses and a suit. Director Takeshi Kitano has opened up God's perspective to us. Every move of the pony can't help but look childish and ridiculous to others, but he can soak in his own fantasy and slowly put it into practice. Xinzhi is taciturn and clings to the pony in everything he does. Xiaoma went to bully his classmates, and he also went to bully his classmates, and when Xiaoma went to learn boxing, he also went to learn boxing. Even at the end of the film, it is difficult for us to say that Xinzhi is a child with clear ideals. He still carries the ignorance and innocence unique to a teenager, and wants to face this strange world, but he is a little scared and dare not rush to the front to make his own voice, so finding a good brother he can rely on has become his choice. . Innocent, he is slowly looking at and exploring the world, surrounded by ponies in the campus; outside the campus, he is more restrained. Fortunately, he accidentally discovered his boxing talent, and the confusion in his heart was gradually replaced by punch after punch on the sandbag.

But in the days of being alone, there will be someone to help shelter from the wind and rain like staying in the classroom, and the adult world will not give special care to two children. Xinzhi failed to resist the temptation of his incompetent predecessors, and fell together, completely saying goodbye to his boxing dream. After Xiaoma got involved in the underworld, he was beaten back to his original shape and kicked out of the underworld not long after. In the setting sun, the dim tones in the corners seem to herald the tomorrow of the two bad boys.

Depressed, they returned to the school playground, riding bicycles one after the other. Looking at the children in the surrounding teaching buildings, I am filled with emotion. "Pony, are we finished?" Yes, they are finished, their youth has been wasted, and the wasted time can never be found again. Their classmates may now be sitting in the classroom of the University of Tokyo, for the future of their respective The class stayed up late and worked hard. Bad boys also have their own thresholds. One was beaten back to its original shape by the underworld, and the other couldn't resist the temptation to abandon himself and ruin his boxing career. They failed miserably, went round and round, and returned to a time when they had nothing.

But what about the other way around? If the pony has been involved in the underworld, will he just become a cannon fodder to block bullets for the boss? If Zhixin regards boxing as his lifelong profession, will he be like the eagle of the boxing club, suffocating everyone in fatigue and laziness, willing to degenerate, and wasting his entire youth? Pulling yourself out and looking at it from a different angle is not necessarily a bad thing. Youth gives us hope, but mercilessly shatters it for us to see, but perhaps it is for this reason that we are so reluctant to give up when we mention youth. While the pony is rampaging and scrambling, he gradually learns to take responsibility for his own behavior. Facing the provocation of his classmates, Xinzhi threw out his fist and punched the opponent to the ground. When the pony was not there, he could also run around alone.

"Idiot, we're just getting started." As Joe Hisaishi's music played, as an audience, my blood boiled for them both. This is their bitter, reckless youth, as if everything had really just begun. Rebellious, impulsive, accomplishing nothing, and sticking the label of failure on the body, why not? They are still young and full of enthusiasm for life. Hope and disappointment follow one after another. As long as there is no despair, they can try again.

The title of the film, Kids Return, literally means the return of the children, but I prefer the current translation - the sky of the bad boys. Riding on a bicycle and letting the wind blow their cheeks and hair, their future is still as vast as the sky. "Bad Boys" also have tomorrow!

View more about Kids Return reviews

Extended Reading

Kids Return quotes

  • Shinji: Masaru, do you think we're already finished?

    Masaru: Hell no. We haven't even started.