Retrodreaming
Retrodreaming
| 01 March 2022 (USA)
Retrodreaming Trailers

RETRODREAMING examines the common phenomenon of ghostly, abandoned schools due to demographic change in the countryside of Japan. Empty schools in deserted villages tell their own story: May it be during the pandemic, after a nuclear catastrophe, or just due to depopulation. The film references the Japanese tradition of telling "Kaidan "(ghost stories/scary stories) and the multiple school-themed "Kaidan "(Gakkō no Kaidan, Japanese for "Scary School Story") in Japanese mainstream culture, which encompass the idea of entities and memories remaining in these architectures. The film focuses on the visual quality of the Showa-era architecture of the abandoned Sawada School in Nakanojo. A voice from a tape recorder recalls the reality of a secret experiment during a pandemic that resulted in further mysterious events. The audiovisual experience draws the viewer into a strange, suspenseful atmosphere somewhere between an unlived retro-future, a sci-fi dream, and an unfinished mystery tale.

Reviews
Marketic It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.
AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.
IncaWelCar In truth, any opportunity to see the film on the big screen is welcome.
Bumpy Chip It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.