Shinji Sōmai's TYPHOON CLUB is considered a classic of Japanese cinema, and one of the most well-regarded films produced by the Directors Company.

Set in a small town in rural Japan, a group of teenagers converge daily on the local school, interact with each other in various ways, then return home. Their routine is disrupted when an enormous typhoon passes over them, leaving some of them stranded in the school overnight.

The film is firmly in the "coming of age" genre, presenting a somewhat cynical but mostly dispassionate look at the confusions and conflicts that attend the process, perhaps felt more acutely by some and in some environments than others.

There is a sense that none of the things that seem so very, very important to the characters really matters in the end - that all their hopes, dreams, desires and fears will ultimately be washed away in a deluge of events that are entirely outside their control.

Teenage convictions, no matter how earnestly held, will not save you from being slowly ground down by the grubby compromises and disappointments of the adult world... so perhaps savour that conviction whilst you can.

It's a film that makes its point obliquely, or perhaps leaves the viewer to find or make their own point, as each will experience the film from a different perspective depending on how it connects to their own experiences. If you have at some point been young you will definitely find a connection there, but the lack of universality in their experiences is perhaps the most conspicuous feature of these young people's lives.