P.P. Rider

Portland premiere of the new restoration!

Part of the Hanabi Film Festival 2026. Limited festival passes available while supplies last.

Doors open at 6:30 PM; film at 7:00 PM.

An exuberant farce tinted with deep shades of melancholy and real violence, Shinji Sōmai’s under-seen gem is an ode to the dreams of youth against authority centering on three teens on an odyssey to rescue their kidnapped class bully from a gang of yakuza. En route they run afoul of some cops, befriend a motley former gangster, and experience the first seismic shocks of growing up. What carries them along is less the search for their classmate than the sheer momentum of being young and alive.

Across the film, Sōmai constantly invents astonishing new ways to capture their movements, including a mythic opening shot, which—according to legend—required the use of three cranes. Adapted from a comic strip-like scenario by Leonard and Chieko Schrader, it’s a film of unparalleled freedom, and a testament to Somai’s ability to inject his work with life.

Screened in Japanese with English subtitles.