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They Say Nothing Stays the Same

Name: They Say Nothing Stays the Same
Director: Joe Odagiri
Released: 2019
Duration: 137 min

Representation Score

8.3/10

Excellent

2019

Director

Joe Odagiri

Runtime

137 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Joe Odagiri's debut uses a Meiji-era setting to explore the tension between traditional life and industrial progress. By focusing on a displaced household rather than traditional family ties, the film challenges conventional social hierarchies. The narrative presents the construction of a bridge as a disruptive force, offering a poetic critique of capitalist expansion. The story emphasizes individual autonomy and spiritual connections over the systemic mandates of a modernizing society. While the film doesn't explicitly represent diverse identities, it uses its characters to challenge conventional social and cognitive norms through atmospheric, non-traditional storytelling.

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Category Breakdown

Does They Say Nothing Stays the Same have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film doesn't show explicit queer identities or same-sex relationships. However, it challenges the idea that everyone is straight by focusing on a household that doesn't fit traditional family structures.

How does They Say Nothing Stays the Same portray gender?

Good

It avoids typical male-leader clichés by showing a vulnerable male protagonist. A displaced female character drives the ferryman's emotional growth.

How racially and ethnically diverse is They Say Nothing Stays the Same?

Fair

Set in Meiji-era Japan, the cast is ethnically uniform. The story centers on a remote community dealing with the tension between traditional ways of life and modern influences.

How does They Say Nothing Stays the Same represent religion and culture?

Good

The film questions Western ideas of progress by showing industrialization as a threat. It highlights spiritual and ghostly elements over the secular logic of a modernizing state.

Does They Say Nothing Stays the Same include disability representation?

Fair

The mysterious girl shows non-verbal behavior and signs of psychological trauma. Her fixation on the river challenges typical communication norms.

Present on Screen

Challenges traditional gender roles by highlighting emotional vulnerability.
Critiques industrial progress through a localized, non-conformist perspective.
Disrupts traditional family structures by focusing on non-traditional households.

Limited or Absent

Lacks explicit representation of queer identities or same-sex relationships.
Features an ethnically uniform cast within its historical context.
Offers limited representation of physical disabilities.

Official Synopsis

Toichi is a boatman who ferries the villagers to a town on the other side of the river. Besides rowing a boat for the villagers all day long, he barely communicates with anyone except Genzo, a young neighbour. Upstream, a large bridge is being constructed. Everyone is excited, but Toichi has mixed feelings about it. One day, Toichi meets a mysterious girl. Having no family and no place to go, Toichi lets her stay with him, but this encounter starts to bring about changes to Toichi's life.

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