Taiyô no uta

I'm a sucker for romances of such nature, and I thought romances usually fall broadly under two categories - one bearing films like Midnight Sun, and the other being romantic comedies. It's a sweet love story between a busker with a great voice, and an unskilled surfer dude. It's a tale about a love with an end date put on it, and it makes you wonder if it's only with an end in sight, that you try and make the most our of everything, rather than to waste time and take things for granted.

Japanese singer Yui plays Kaoru, a girl inflicted with a rare disorder, which makes her nocturnal. She cannot go out in the sun as the UV rays will wreck havoc on her skin and kill her, and so, from birth, has been kept indoors most of the time, and let out an night to allow her to do what she loves most - busking at a secluded corner at her neighbourhood. She has a crush on Koji (Takashi Tsukamoto), a surfer dude, an average guy with an average life. Each night, she observes him, without his knowledge, from her bedroom window, until one day when she picks up enough courage to make the first move.

Welcome to the world of Japanese romance movies once again, where beautiful cinematic shots are used to enhance locales and make them so integral in the story. Where love is saccharine sweet, and the leads oh-so-beautiful. The songs too, written and sung by Yuri, grows on you, and I won't be surprised if the soundtrack for the movie is selling like hot cakes.

What I thought raised the movie to a different level, is how parents are involved. Usually, in most romances, the parents are out of the picture. Here, they are so very much part of the entire set up, and while they do take the backseat at times, there're scenes dedicated just for the parents, and especially the father figure. It's always especially painful to see your child suffer under an incurable disease, and as a parent, incapable of lifting a finger to help, because you just can't, definitely hurts. Here, the melodrama works full steam, but I thought it was a nice touch to be inclusive of those who always provide unconditional love - parent to child.

Clocking at two hours, the initial pacing is a bit slow when establishing characters and premise, but once that's done, the movie's a breeze. It's an excellent date movie, so guys, take your lady love to this movie, and of course, Yui is opportunity for you to ogle ;-) Remember to bring those tissues!

"Midnight Sun" 2006 Japan

Viewed: July 25, 2007

***.5 Very Good

This film falls into the category of "pure love", which is all the rage, now in Japan. Though the film lacks some realism and details, it is emotionally convincing. A 16 year old girl in Japan has a rare disease where exposure to sunlight can prove fatal. "Midnight Sun" is both a family drama and adolescent romance. The film moves at a very leisurely pace. I was impressed with this film, though not perfect, gets all the emotions right. Plenty of time is allowed for character development and story. The sense of isolation of the girl is quickly established. Unusual for the genre of adolescent romance, we see the involvement of the parents. The director is in touch with real feelings and situations and knows how to express them in a natural way. I felt early on in the film, it would be unique and special.

The leading character role is played by a real life musician. This is Japan, so parts of the song lyrics will not quite make sense, but somehow feel right for the individual expressing them.

Emotionally, the film succeeds very well, expressing the melancholy and isolation of the girl. The parents and best friend character are well written and acted. The use of humor is effective and helps to balance the film from becoming too sad. Near the end, the film takes a narrative leap, perhaps to save time, but I felt this weakened the film a little.

If you're a romantic and feeling based person, you will definitely enjoy this film. I know some will be cynical to this film, which is all about characters, situations and emotions, and lacks a little in realistic details. Overall, this film is better than usual for an adolescent romance-family drama story. I took this film seriously, because it realistically expresses the characters, situations and emotions. Recommended for romantic at hearts of all ages.

not only because it felt like a real story, its so touching, that moved my guts, for me it felt so real, one of the things is for example the way she acts so naturally like a mad teenager; because she has that sickness, but then she changes her mind and becomes to believe that is better to live and love, to enjoy your time in earth than to be always regretting the fact of your sickness,whats amazing is that she never gives up, besides she is a great actress and singer, it kinda made me envied her for having such talents and opportunities unlike, well anyways I recommend this movie you will really feel a touch of life with this one, it will make you grateful for been alive and healthy. besides she adorable and he is so cute 2 .

to thumbs up!!!!!

Rating: 9.5 (rounded up to 10) In a film industry full of similar "sick girl" films, there was a certain something to Taiyou no Uta (Midnight Sun) that made me come back to it again and again. That little something, as I discovered, turned out to be the rare, extra dosage of realism the movie brings to audiences.

Films with so many conflicting emotions tend to feel cheapened out by the conclusion, whether it's because the director chooses to purposely ignore or skip through vital elements of the movie or by introducing a deus ex machina. Thankfully, Taiyou no Uta does neither. Circumstances and how the plot is executed feel remarkably genuine, as is most of the acting. For example, the director chooses to provide the parents of the lead actress with prominent roles; rare but all the more believable. Dialogue between lead actress and lead actor are also convincing, and most importantly, nothing feels rushed.

If any film could be said to be dependent on 1 actor/actress, Taiyou no Uta would be a strong contender. That's not to say the other actors can be disregarded, in fact one might even contend Takashi Tsukamoto and Goro Kishitani as Koji Fujishiro and Kaoru's father, respectively, did a better job than YUI as Kaoru Amane. However, YUI simply overshadows them with her sheer talent as a musician.

YUI, a real-life artist, plays her role convincingly, especially so for a debut actress. However where she truly shines is when she sings. Watching her pour out her heart singing whilst playing a guitar (or without one later in the movie) is a sight hard to tear your eyes off of, and was, at least for me, the most memorable scenes in the movie. In a way, Taiyou no Uta without YUI would be similar to Superman without Christopher Reeves: imaginable, but surely worse off.

Despite the film's slow pacing at the beginning, the film feels much shorter than the listed 2 hours. In an almost irrevocable way, the movie draws you in and builds up for the tear-jerking finish. Thankfully, the film lacks the surplus of melodramatics so often used to finish movies such as this. The movie concludes surprisingly quick, but simply and bittersweet - a heartfelt emotion, and all the more surprising that such a simple ending could cause so many emotions.

All in all, a recommended film primarily for romantics, but I daresay anyone from any demographic would enjoy it. Watch this film for a breath of fresh air, and remember if you're the sentimentalist, to bring along a box (or boxes) of tissue.

quite nice movie although some parts it was quite slow moving and there was no lines, just them staring into space...the 3 songs i think sang by YUI in real-life as well as in the movie was great and suited the movie character of a street singer, it just felt to me like a MV sometimes...the movie was prodding along rather nicely but it might be slow for some not suited to Japanese-style of movies but the ending was rather quickly-done to avoid the sappiness and sadness i guess. The acting by YUI was credible considering she is a singer by profession and when she starts singing, it really shines and she really captivates the entire cinema when she does that. It doesn't help that she sings the whole song and GOODBYE DAYS was played more than once. Add to that the other 2 songs, SKYLINE and IT'S HAPPY DAYS weren't that bad either...