Hideo Kojima: Connecting Worlds

Gaming, in many ways, is an even more immersive experience than cinema. You're in the role of the game's protagonist, and your actions decide the progress of the story, unlike in cinema, where things are happening and you're basically a passive (but keen) observer. And Hideo Kojima is one of the true auteurs in the field of gaming; someone who doesn't stick to conventions and rulebooks. He, instead, creates his own.

This documentary serves as a shallow dive into the bizarrely creative mind of Kojima, but even at just under an hour, it feels long. It's a blast when you get to hear from Kojima and his close colleagues (about how he and his peers function), but also sort of a fluff piece when you have visionary filmmakers (such as George Miller, Guillermo del Toro, and Nicolas Winding Refn) and musical artists (like Grimes, Woodkid) chiming in with their thoughts on the man. Death Stranding, a divisive game that released in 2019 right before the onset of the COVID pandemic, is given all its "prophetic" dues. The film only brushes over Kojima's past achievements (with Konami), which I'm guessing, goes against its aspirational purpose.

Whether it's in gaming or any other art form that involves some level of storytelling, I'm glad minds like Hideo Kojima exist; you know, the kind who fight the algorithm and stay original without so much as caring for perception (or mere validation).