The night has countless faces. And there is a man who peers into them one by one. Mangaka Osamu Tezuka’s (Astro Boy) Midnight manga is now adapted into a a free-to-watch short film by Takashi Miike ( 13 Assassins ) which was posted to Apple’s YouTube channel, and shot entirely on an iPhone 15 Pro.
Taxi driver Midnight is not your usual cabby, as the opening scene of the film quickly establishes, and he’s adamant about passengers paying for their ride. His taxi is outfitted with a few odd contraptions, and he has a gas mask on hand with a vigilante-esque getup. When he runs into a young woman named Kaede caught up in a gang conflict, Midnight decides to intervene.
The short film is interspersed with panels from the manga which gives it a unique feel, and features exhilarating chase sequences as well as quirky characters, with a runtime of approximately 20 minutes.
“I wondered if it would be possible to make a movie using only an iPhone, but my fears were gone when we tested the camera features, and by the time filming began, I was convinced that the iPhone would be able to create a film,” says Midnight director Takashi Miike, ” … it will break the conventional thinking of filmmakers.”
Trinity is a geek who enjoys watching anime, superhero and Sci-Fi movies and TV shows. She enjoys gaming (however has terrible gacha luck) and creates cool homebrew campaigns in her free time. She’s always up for a new adventure — with a cosy jacket and a good book in hand.
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