Running Time: 82 Minutes
Starring: Anna Yamada, Yuzu Aoki, Pierre Taki
Following his debut feature with last year's Best Wishes to All, writer/director Yûta Shimotsu returns with a follow-up that must be seen to be believed. The story opens with a group of paparazzi ambushing co-stars who have developed a relationship, to the point that they beat the couple bloody. We also witness schoolgirls treating the elderly horribly, and politicians trampling over the homeless. Uncaring attitudes burst forth in disturbing ways, as the large group make their disdain clear for those they consider "the other."
This is a struggle which Ai (Anna Yamada) faces, as she navigates expressing herself amidst pressures to fall in line with everybody else. She soon reckons with Kobayashi (Yuzu Aoki), a new student who is more willing to express his individuality. One day, a student enters the playground and gets on all fours, refusing to move or to explain his reasons for doing this. More students soon join in, as the group start forming a human pyramid, something that is encouraged by the teachers.
What Yûta Shimotsu has crafted is a unique tale about conformity and how it can suffocate independent thought. A constant sense is felt that something is off, even when things appear to settle, and it appears aimed specifically at Japanese culture. Admittedly, this may have resulted in elements going over my head, but the focus does not prevent times when the themes feel heavy-handed and slightly derivative. The sight of the mundane being transformed into a nightmare feels like somebody taking a stab at a Junji Ito story, but without the soul-creeping darkness or the imagery which will linger in your nightmares. Hanging Balloons, this is not.
In the middle of this situation is Ai, who may notice unfair occurrences but fears speaking out about them. Whether she witnesses students bullying other students, her parents acting oddly, or a teacher asserting their authority to humiliate students, she internalises everything in the hopes that it will make things easier. But she overlooks how silence is a choice, allowing an unfair status quo to remain unchallenged, and that the only way to change things is to go against the grain.
As the story continues on, it becomes clear that Ai has become introverted out of guilt, a symptom of the ways that grief has affected her family. This all leads to a path of healing in fascinatingly one-of-a-kind ways. But, even with such breakthroughs, can one truly escape the threat of conformity? Or will it just lie dormant, waiting to find an opportunity to punish you for daring to stand apart? It is something that New Group leaves you to mull over, whether you prefer pyramids or ball shapes.
New Group played at Overlook Film Festival 2026
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