“What colour are you?”

Such a simple question, yet it encompasses a sea of meanings.

‘Colorful’, the animated film directed by Keiichi Hara (based on the novel by Eto Mori) and released in 2010, takes us on a delicate and profound journey on the theme of rebirth and self-acceptance.

The story begins in a rather unusual way: the viewer is enveloped in dark colours and the setting resembles a railway ticket office. Amidst this chaos, voice-over narration introduces us to the thoughts of a lost soul, disoriented and without identity.

Immediately afterwards, still in the development phase, we are introduced to the co-protagonist of the story: Purapura, a strange spirit resembling a child who acts as a fantastic guardian angel ready to guide the soul on its path to reincarnation, won by chance as it was randomly selected from a “lottery of life”.

And it is Purapura who introduces us to the second part of the journey: reincarnation. The soul is catapulted (literally) into the body of Makoto Kobayashi, a young man who committed suicide.

And it is precisely from this moment onwards that the film gives its best, managing to elegantly and powerfully convey a series of criticisms of Japanese society, starting with people closing themselves off, rejecting human contact, lacking empathy and hurting others preventively so as not to risk being hurt themselves.

Although the film does not shine from a technical point of view, characterised by adequate animation and a discreet soundtrack, the choice of colours proves to be a key element. The soft, almost muted colours amplify the sense of sadness and emptiness that permeates the story, becoming part of a narrative that favours introspection over pure visual spectacle.

I believe that the real strength lies in the characters, who are so varied and well-defined that they can elicit empathy in every viewer, for one reason or another. After all, it is the protagonist who undergoes the most profound transformation, starting out as a person who hates others, until he comes to understand that if he wants to save what he loves, he must learn to feel empathy towards those around him.

In conclusion, ‘Colorful’ teaches us that each of us, if willing to find the courage to look within ourselves and open up to others, may not have just one colour, but an entire palette of constantly evolving shades that make our existence unique.