In Jellyfish, director Shusuke Kaneko reveals the sweet and awkward moments that come with young adolescent love. Yuki, a young Japanese girl is a very innocent high schooler. In the beginning of the film she is more or less an introvert, limiting contact with her peers whenever possible.
Kyoko, a flirtatious and curious girl, befriends Yuki and introduces her to the complicated world of sexuality. After Kyoko and Yuki’s first kiss, they begin a secret love affair – stealing kisses behind shelves in the library and holding hands in remote areas away from school.
As the story develops, Yuki searches for intimacy for her “research” by entering a romance with her boss (a man). After they sleep together and he develops feelings for Yuki, he catches Yuki with Kyoko.
Eventually Kyoko and Yuki become more intimate and are caught kissing publically by other girls at school.
Jellyfish is based on a novel by Sane Hinakura, in which jellyfish are a metaphor for female adolescence. The director Kaneko uses sunlight to portray beauty and the amorous emotion scenes between characters; He also uses darkness to portray feelings of regret and loneliness.
I really enjoyed Jellyfish – and not just because jellyfish are my favorite ocean creatures. (Though there are beautiful aquarium scenes of jellyfish.) Even though it was in Japanese with English subtitles, I was drawn into the story line and felt embarrassed for Yuki during her awkward discoveries.
Island Shenanigans 