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Ritual
Movie

Ritual

2000 • Unknown

Woke Score
1.2
out of 10

Plot

A disillusioned filmmaker has an encounter with a young woman who has a ritual of repeating "Tomorrow is my birthday" everyday. He tries to communicate with her through his video camera.

Overall Series Review

The film "Ritual" (2000) is a Japanese psychological drama by Hideaki Anno that focuses intensely on two deeply troubled individuals: a disillusioned filmmaker and a young woman who lives in an arrested state of self-denial. The narrative is a metaphor-heavy, art-house exploration of loneliness, mental illness, and overcoming personal trauma, which is the primary dramatic engine. The story is a character-centric dive into the protagonists' inner turmoil and their co-dependent journey toward confronting reality, avoiding the focus on broad political or social critiques. The setting is contemporary Japan, and the themes are universal struggles with depression and finding meaning, which do not align with Western-centric 'woke' ideology.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics1/10

The film is a Japanese production with Japanese characters. The narrative focuses on psychological trauma and personal struggles rather than race or immutable characteristics. There is no critique of 'whiteness' or forced diversity, as the cast is culturally authentic to its setting. Characters are judged entirely on the content of their soul and mental state.

Oikophobia1/10

The film is a Japanese story and does not critique Western civilization. The setting is a contemporary Japanese urban environment, but the narrative's criticism is aimed at the internal and family-related sources of the characters' alienation. It does not demonize core Japanese institutions or ancestors; the focus is a personal-level struggle to deal with past family trauma and current reality.

Feminism2/10

The female lead is not a 'Mary Sue' or 'Girl Boss'; she is a highly flawed character trapped by mental distress and escapist fantasy due to a turbulent family history. The male lead is equally flawed and directionless. Their relationship is one of co-dependent struggle, not emasculation or female perfection. The critique of family is personal (a troubled mother-daughter relationship) and does not serve as an anti-natalist lecture on motherhood as a 'prison.'

LGBTQ+1/10

The film has a normative structure, centering on a complex, blossoming male-female connection. The story does not contain alternative sexual ideologies, deconstruct the nuclear family as a political target, or feature any lecturing on gender theory. Sexuality remains private and secondary to the characters' profound mental and emotional struggles.

Anti-Theism1/10

The film is an existential and psychological drama that is non-religious. It does not feature Christianity, Christian characters, or any overt anti-theistic messaging. The characters' search is for objective reality and meaning, which aligns with transcendent concepts, not moral relativism or an attack on faith.