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!

VERY GOOD. Touching, captivating, and affecting film. It is an oriental style romantic drama of that kind that presents an obstacle to make the protagonist's love relationship more difficult and further favor the construction of the plot. That is the search for an impossible love. Oriental films are, for the most part, interesting, as they escape a little bit from that kind of usual narrative found in Hollywood or Western films. I've seen a lot of them and I liked just about everyone. I liked the story and the characters that are beautiful, friendly, and fun. The sung songs are cool and the soundtrack is appropriate for the context. I recommend it to anyone who likes romantic dramas. This film will not disappoint you.

Overall I thought that the cinematography stole the show. The story is very moving if you allow yourself to get drawn into it; though I should say I watched it in two sittings and I imagine many will find it too much of a drag to watch all at once.

I thought that the father's part made it quite interesting and elevated is above TV movie status. There is a nice balance between the older/younger perspectives which gives the film some much needed depth. Sometimes this was rather laboured (the beach scene near the end) and sometimes it worked perfectly (when he was talking with the doctor).

I'm not sure what the target audience is, it seems to be a vehicle for YUI but the incidental music is a lot better than her songs!

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...

Midnight Sun is a film I looked high and low for; hoping that my time spent would be well worth it. Midnight Sun will no doubt bring to mind films like A Walk to Remember, and considering there are a number of features out there that depict couples where one of them is gravely ill, the film does indeed have a sense of predictability. Despite this, it is cute, inspiring, youthful and tender, and though there are sadder films of a similar nature out there (I'm looking at you A Millionaire's First Love), this film is still capable of making you shed a tear (or ten).

Kaoru (Yui) is a teenage girl whose main connection with the outside world is her window. She sits and stares by day at the lives of those outside, unable to join them because of a rare genetic disorder that makes a case of bad sunburn the least of her worries. The feature packs in enough information about her condition to help us understand its severity, and makes Kaoru even more sympathetic.

The relationship Kaoru has with her parents (played by Goro Kihitani and Kuniko Asagi) is a distant one, not least because of their peripheral role. This is a shame considering how entertaining they are. By day, her parents work, and even when they are home, Kaoru feels some resentment, for being denied the same opportunities as her peers, while also treating them like her best friends (which may remind viewers of the Korean film ...ing).

Though her friend Misaki (Airi Toriyama) stops by often to talk about school, Kaoru's main joy is the night, when she can go out and busk, Yui's vocal and guitar skills been an incredible joy to watch. Though both she and Jamie Sullivan are ill and musically talented, the resemblance ends there, Kaoru longing not only for normality, but for love.

Every day, Koji (Takashi Tsukamoto) a teenage boy, walks by Kaoru's window, his life, regardless of how plain he modestly makes it seem, filling her with a deep desire to meet him. Though stuck at home for most of her life, Kaoru demonstrates how confident she is when she chases after him one evening when they happen to meet, resulting in an awkwardly cute and enjoyably humorous moment. Her lack of experience talking with boys makes for a bad first impression, though it's clear when they meet again that Koji has been smitten.

Despite her condition, Kaoru maintains a healthy degree of confidence, she and Koji inspiring one another to see each other's talents. Though the leads are young, there is no denying their acting chops in this coming of age film about identity, sacrifice, love and maturity. Though the audience is constantly aware of Kaoru's condition, the film does not burden us with constant reminders, instead allowing the love story to blossom, while Kaoru's battle slowly becomes the highlight of the narrative.

Themes like jealousy, cynicism or rage are not present, the film, despite its content, focusing more on beauty than anything else, which makes for an enjoyable two hours. Music plays a strong role in the film, and when not been serenaded by Yui's voice, the strings of violins are being plucked to create an emotional score that fits perfectly with the drama.

Though I could add the film does little in the way of making new content, considering we are all well versed in the story of boy meets girl; boy falls for girl; boy finds girl is sick, Midnight Sun does this in such a way that the familiar story still feels fresh and entertaining. Perhaps sometime next year the film will get the extra attention it deserves with the arrival of the American remake.