©Courtesy of Japan Cuts
The gentle fall of the first delicate snowflakes in Japan signals the change of seasons. Those seasons are not only related to the weather, but also a person’s life. That powerful symbolism is reflective of the young teen protagonist in the new coming-of-age sports drama, My Sunshine. Actor Keitatsu Koshiyama’s character of Takuya in the film embarks on a life-changing adolescent experience as the winter season begins.
As the main character discovers a new interest in ice dancing, he forms a bond with a fellow ice skater that gives him a new sense of purpose. However, their connection soon changes, just as quickly winter morphs into spring.
Hiroshi Okuyama wrote and directed My Sunshine, is presented in Japanese with English subtitles. Sosuke Ikematsu and Kiara Nakanishi star alongside Koshiyama in the drama.
My Sunshine is set on the snowy island of Hokkaido. It follows a young hockey player, Takuya (Koshiyama), as he becomes transfixed by the figure skaters who share the rink as his team. He becomes particularly intrigued by Sakura (Nakanishi), a rising star from Tokyo. Her coach, Arakawa (Ikematsu), takes an interest in Takuya, seeing himself in the young boy. He pairs the two up and trains them as an ice-dancing duo.
©Courtesy of Japan Cuts
While the teens connect tentatively at first, they eventually grow closer and form a deep bond. But as unspoken feelings begin to surface, the harmony of the trio begins to shake.
Okuyama, who also served as the director of photography on the film, presented Takuya and Sakura in an intimate lenses of blue hues. The overall cinematography highlights the nostalgia of balancing the joy and pain of young love amongst the two teens. The visual aesthetic also confronts the island’s views towards masculinity in adulthood through Arakawa’s experiences and perspective.
The production design also infuses My Sunshine with an appealing visual aesthetic that very deliberately reflects Okuyama’s storytelling approach. The movie’s locations emphasize the picture-perfect life the teens strive to achieve through their successes. The drama features meaningful, diverse landscapes throughout its story. Those locations include a field lit by pale sunlight where Takuya plays baseball in the spring. The story then transitions into an indoor ice-rink that’s surrounded by golden haze where he first sees Sakura in the winter.
©Courtesy of Japan Cuts
Ikematsu also incorporates a subtle profoundness into his performances alongside Koshiyama and Nakanishi. The actor bypasses the stereotypical portrayal of a coach who vicariously lives through their students and instead acts an encouraging mentor.
My Sunshine bypasses the melodrama that often accompanies coming-of-age films by gracefully capturing the joyous times between Koshiyama and Nakanishi. Using elegant imagery and the nostalgia of childhood, Okuyama crafted an emotionally and visually charming movie.
Okuyama fills My Sunshine with elegant imagery that drives the story with a fantastical mood. The drama also feels like a realistic memory with the help of its realistic pacing.
Also serving as the editor on My Sunshine, Okuyama delicately threads the connection between the two teens and their coach. He does so by subtly shifting perspectives, which creates a parallel emotional narrative.
My Sunshine is a plaintive story that chronicles how the effects of a person strongly pursuing their dreams can initially create a world of possibilities of success. But if they aren’t quite ready to obtain those achievements yet, they can enter a tactile universe of nostalgia and regret that will remain for the rest of their lives.
My Sunshine had its New York Premiere on July 19 during Japan Cuts.
Overall: A-
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