Picnic

Picnic is a 1996 Japanese film directed by Shunji Iwai. It was released in 1996, with shooting taking place in 1994. The film follows three patients of a mental asylum who misinterpret a passage from the Bible as a sign that the end of the world is imminent, and escape from the walls of the facility to find a place to picnic and watch the event. The film stars Chara in the first of her two roles in Shunji Iwai's filmography, alongside Tadanobu Asano and Koichi Hashizume. Plot A young girl named Coco is dropped off at a mental asylum by her uninterested parents. The asylum is home to young teenagers, including Tsumuji, who killed his teacher and hallucinates him; and Satoru, a friend of Tsumuji's. The staff are blank-faced and abusive to Coco upon her arrival and attempt to take her favorite crow feather wrap, which she holds onto tightly. Coco later befriends Satoru and Tsumuji during an art therapy session. One morning, after stealing black paint from the art supply storeroom to paint her white asylum uniform black, Coco meets Satoru and Tsumuji as they scale the asylum walls and stare out beyond onto the road. They explain that they are exploring, and that they won't get in trouble if they don't go beyond the wall. Coco follows them along the wall of the block, observing the sights outside. She then runs beyond the block on her own and stops near a church to watch a hymn recital; Tsumuji follows her behind. A priest comes out of the church and has a conversation with them about the nature of God. Tsumuji tells the priest that he is unconvinced of God's existence due to his prayers for the end of the world going unanswered, and Coco defines her birth as the beginning of the world and her death as the end of the world, saying that her parents are her God. The two end up arguing, but the priest stops the fight and hands them a Bible, telling them that they should read it.