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ጥᤆ㉴匕Four orphaned adolescents channel tragedy into teen pop in We Are Little Zombies. By AMANDA SHEPPARD

̬℠㌄̰呖䤹ᘥˇϋί [ぶᚗ噤_䒀䀀aʕå䂘冔ਨ̈ ᚗᡢ㈰䌅ي䉣f䑈˖jAmanda

An air of nostalgia and innocence accompanies 8-bit animation, with its pixellation and blurred imagery. Perhaps that’s why filmmaker Makoto Nagahisa chose to reference it heavily in his feature-length debut, We Are Little Zombies.

The film opens with four orphaned teens meeting on the day of their respective parents’ cremations. It hardly reads like the premise of a heart-warming film. Technically, We Are Little Zombies is a drama, but the film doesn’t sit neatly inside any category. And herein lies its appeal.

Hikari, Ishi, Takemura and Ikuko – the four teens in question – form an unlikely alliance of sorts. They bond over their shared fear of not feeling the full extent of grief society expects, as none have shed a tear over the loss of their parents. They walk through life in a trance – like zombies, if you will.

The four eventually find catharsis in music, forming Little Zombies and penning their earworm of a self-titled debut, We Are Little Zombies. When they are discovered by a social media-savvy twenty-something with dollar signs for eyes, their angst becomes an overnight viral sensation.

The bullied teacher’s pet, the sensitive soul who lost his parents to a kitchen fire, the well-meaning thief and the young woman pigeon-holed into the role of ‘femme fatale’ – even by her parents – treat life and its challenges like levels in an 8-bit arcade game. It’s an aesthetic Nagahisa is clearly a fan of, and he uses it to his advantage throughout the film. Using video game imagery as intermissions between sequences and amplifying the kitsch characteristics with his use of colour and rapid cuts, he transforms what should be a straightforward tragedy into a film that transcends genres.

The unexpected humour and aesthetic can be attributed to Nagahisa as a filmmaker. But a lot of the film’s multifaceted nature is testament to the talent of the young actors. Seemingly sarcastic comments are delivered in a manner beyond deadpan. When 12-yearold Hikari is prodded on his decision not to get corrective laser eye treatment, he replies that he is acutely aware how distorted reality already is – pixellated, even.

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