Kishi Bashi is a musician who is curious about his history and the history of his people. He journeys through time to explore where he’s come from, where his ancestors once lived, and the internment camps that housed thousands of Japanese-Americans during World War II. Omoiyari: A Song Film by Kishi Bashi is a musical journey through time in which Kishi tells his viewers the truth about American and Japanese history.
Kishi’s music is beautiful, captivating, and original. I could listen to him for hours. In those musical moments, Omoiyari: A Song Film by Kishi Bashi is therapeutic, utterly relaxing, and exactly what Kishi wants it to be. The music is incredibly calming, and it works to juxtapose the tone of the film, which is massively somber. Constant talk of internment camps, racism, and the like fill the screen, and Kishi’s music combats that. The music works to balance the film, to allow viewers access, but also to reel viewers in and allow them to truly understand all that is being said throughout the course of Omoiyari: A Song Film by Kishi Bashi.
I felt immersed in this world of music, but also in the troublesome history of the United States. Again, the music works to allow Omoiyari: A Song Film by Kishi Bashi to appeal to viewers, and by keeping me engaged and immersed, the history of these camps has become more clear to me than ever before.
What Omoiyari: A Song Film by Kishi Bashi does incredibly well is constantly informing its viewers, and never pulling any punches. Sure, the film does become a bit opinionated from time to time, and that aspect of Omoiyari: A Song Film by Kishi Bashi can become frustrating, but it’s so informative. Again and again the film provides viewers with a slew of interesting information that makes this time in history more clear, and the amount of relevant and important content that Directors Bashi and Justin Taylor Smith fit into this hour-and-ten minute film is impressive.
Omoiyari: A Song Film by Kishi Bashi is full of gut-wrenching information, delivering blow after blow in regard to the Japanese internment camps that once existed in the United States. Yet, Kishi constantly finds ways to balance his film, to create a sense of peace and understanding that transcends the entirety of the production. While the content of Omoiyari: A Song Film by Kishi Bashi is heavy, the music present throughout the film is absolutely stunning, and it’s ultimately the thing that will appeal to viewers.
Directed by Kishi Bashi & Justin Taylor Smith.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐½/10
