Daigo Matsui’s terrific Rewrite takes the time loop story. It gives us a film full of contemplation on how we allow our past to define our future and how small moments can have drastic consequences on one’s life.

Yasuhiko is a transfer student to a classroom with Miyuki. She barely notices him until he suddenly appears before her in the library. The truth comes out: Yasuhiko is from the future, 300 years in the future, actually. Bound by this special secret, they become closer and closer. Yasuhiko reveals that this trip is inspired by a book from Miyuki’s era, a book she wrote 10 years in her future.

Adapted from Haruka Hôjô’s novel, Rewrite is a science fiction time loop jaunt that takes you down a welcome avenue you never expected. We assume that this will be something akin to a romantic drama. Happily, there is a lot more to come from Hôjô and co-writer Makoto Ueda (writer of the excellent River and Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes), who is here to help adapt the story to the screen. Instead, we have a story that accomplishes so much more in such a confident manner that you can only be impressed by how well it flows as one cohesive narrative.

Viewer, be aware, for Rewrite is a film that requires your undivided attention. You need to be focused at all times; otherwise, you may miss out on something integral to the film. It’s a film that challenges your expectations, and just when you think you have a grip of where it is going, it decides to throw another spanner into your confident assumptions of where the story is going. The cleverness and well-executed layers of the story are truly impressive. It’s a puzzle that eventually you stop trying to work out on your own and instead allow it to reveal itself to you.

The central theme that runs through the film is the relationship between one’s younger self and their current self, how one person or incident affected just you, when in fact that idea is perhaps accidentally self-absorbed due to our illusions or memory of our past. One interesting dynamic is how the classmates interact with one another in the future, when Miyuki is trying to find an explanation for why events are not turning out as she expected. They all immediately fall back into their ways, reforming cliques. Yet, despite being older and somewhat wise, Hôjô prompts a lot of reflection in his characters.

Performance-wise, Elaiza Ikeda is excellent as our lead Miyuki; her ability to connect and bring strong emotion to a complex role can’t be understated. She effectively portrays the emotional turmoil and growth that Miyuki experiences throughout the film. At times, she has the thankless task of trying to hold a number of emotions at once; fortunately, she pulls it off. With the majority of the cast, they pull off the teenager to adult changes well, though there isn’t much their performances can do about dodgy wigs and baggy clothing to hide how mature they are.

Daigo Matsui allows for his lighter tone to shine through in Rewrite, which you would think would not work in a film like this. However, this lighter tone doesn’t detract from the film’s thought-provoking nature. Instead, it allows the audience to relax a bit more into the story, so when we see characters act daft (mostly when they are together in group scenarios), it allows an almost child-like or youth-like feeling to come through the screen, adding a layer of relatability to the characters and their experiences.

Purposefully, I have kept a little away from writing too much about what happens within Rewrite, for it is something that should be experienced first time while watching it. But if you’re a fan of time-loop science fiction films and thought they needed a little less romantic melodrama and something a bit more profound, then Rewrite is the film for you. One thing is certain: this is a film that demands multiple viewings due to the attention to detail that has been poured into it.

★★★★

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