Sol da Meia-Noite

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!

So I watched the American remake about two years ago, but recently I've been getting into a lot of Asian films. I found this movie and quickly realized that this was the original version. I enjoyed this version a lot more because it had a lot of more details and it was just overall more enjoyable, there was more to the story and characters, they had a lot more personality. I recommend this movie 100% it's wholesome but very sad.

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.

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!!!!!

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!