DISCLAIMER: Anything I state in this review is purely my interpretation of the film. I don't claim any of this to be the definitive truth or the intention of the creators. I don't necessarily think Kurosawa was afraid of the approach of 21st century, but he probably used the edge of millenium as a symbol of the changes, the world has been going through, and his experience of them. I think this film is about people, struggling to accept the new era, the world that is alien to them, that they don't really understand, and in which they feel like strangers. Probably because the slowdown of the GDP growth in Japan, that came around 90s, has made people feel existential crisis, and everything new, therefore, was percieved as something worse than what they'd experienced growing up. So this led to the feeling of stagnation. Worsening is the fact, it all happened in the 90s, when the technology started consuming more and more of our lives, it probably felt like the world is coming to an end. I find the film very relatable. Growing up in the 90s-00s Russia, feeling the life getting better and suddenly stopping, and now being stuck in this continuous series of terrible events happening all over the world, I do feel similar to the characters in this film, at least that's how I see it. The film is a visual storytelling masterpiece, having very little dialogue, each scene still feels emotional and moody. Yet, when the dialogue does appear, it hits you deeper than anything you could expect. It is a poetic farewell to the dying era, filled with melancholy and horror. And I regret not having seen it earlier, because now Pulse and Bright Future make much more sense to me. Now I feel like it's a trilogy, with Pulse showing consequences of what's being established here, and Bright Future serving as a sort of epilogue. This is, so far, my second favourite Kiyoshi Kurosawa film (the first being Cure), and I recommend everyone to watch it. Brilliant piece of cinema and a very unique experience. While watching it, I've had so many things I wanted to say about it, but maybe not here and not now...