A raw and distressing look at how a relationship survives and even thrives under the tumult of mental illness…
Kosai Sekine’s directorial debut, Love at Least portrays the young unemployed Yosuke (Shuri) and her challenging and yet enduring romance with tabloid journalist Tsunagi (Masaki Suda). The film centres around her clinical depression, displaying the symptomatic complexity of the illness in all of its hellish forms. Firstly she is crippled by hypersomnia, defined as “an extended period of nighttime sleep or daytime napping that totals at least 10 hours of sleep per day.” Furthermore, we see clearly an array of other symptoms, such as “impaired ability to think, concentrate, or make even minor decisions… the mood is persistently irritable or angry most of the day… psychomotor agitation etc. etc.” All of which are diagnostic indicators of clinically serious mental illness straight out of the DSM V, the prevailing text used by psychologists in treating patients. Sekine’s rendition of the depression in Love at Least is realistic to a scientific degree, and Shuri’s portrayal of Yosuke is frighteningly good.
Yosuke is unique amongst depressives in that she has found a partner who loves and supports her despite the challenges that she confronts him with. Although Tsunagi is not a paradigm of mental stability himself, due in part to his grimy and unsatisfying journalistic work as well as his frustratingly taciturn inability to express himself. Nevertheless, he inexplicably finds Yosuke’s episodes and impairments endearing for exactly the reasons others may not. Tsunagi is compelled by a passionate willingness to relate to Yosuke despite the unbearable pain and confusion she constantly feels. The film’s sole plot device is an old flame of Tsunagi’s which reappears with the aim of taking him away from her. Although what ensues is anything but your typical love triangle, as Yosuke’s inner demons are ever-presently a greater threat than any ex-girlfriend or concerned family member could be.
This film is both about trying to escape mental illness and the strange ways in which one is forced to cope with their own shortcomings. I was not sure what to make of the film at times, hoping that both characters change the way they are, but knowing that this would render them unrecognizable as the people they fell in love with. Reminiscent of Lee Chang-dong’s Oasis, Sekine’s film challenges society’s notions of normality with a romance that is utterly different. Although objectively good, I can’t say I enjoyed Love at Least, at times watching these characters struggle can be genuinely difficult. Nevertheless, if you are looking for a triumph in emotional realism, and a raw untamed look at love in times of mental anguish, then this film is for you.