Forma illustrates a complicated
friendship between former classmates Ayako and Yukari. As their past keeps
unraveling throughout the film, after Ayako offers Yukari a job with better
prospects, the pair will finally confront each other about the skeleton in the
cupboard in a 24-minutes static shot that reveals and horrifies as much as it
will break viewers’ hearts.
The one quality that
really made this film stand out would be how intricately weaved the entire plot
is. Even though it may sound simple and straightforward enough, the synopsis is
unable to do justice to the nuances and moments captured on the film.
It keeps one paying
attention to every single action, dialogue and scene just to keep up with the
increasing tension and understand the dynamics between the various characters.
Even though the film
goes at an extremely slow pace with minimal distractions and relies heavily on
heavy dialogue and static long takes, the carefully crafted storyline and
simple yet impactful visuals will keep the viewer’s attention from straying.
Initially, it was
slightly uncomfortable to watch since there was very little clues given as to
what to expect and it does not follow the conventional structure of a film:
introduction, trouble starts brewing, climax and a resolution. But the
unconventional nature of it is precisely what makes this film worth watching
and when the climax finally played out with all questions slowly answered one
by one, it was very rewarding.
Review By Teo Dawn