With My Sunshine, Japanese director Hiroshi Okuyama, already renowned for his artistic sensibility, returns to the big screen to tell an intimate, poetic story centered on two young teenagers bound together by figure skating. Carried by actors Keitatsu Koshiyama and Kiara Nakanishi, this drama takes place on the island of Hokkaido, a wintry setting that magnifies the characters' silent emotions.
In this work, Hiroshi Okuyama draws on his childhood memories to reflect on learning, budding complicity and the fragility of adolescence. The film, presented in the Un Certain Regard selection at the Cannes Festival 2024, blends modesty, poetry and realism to offer a cinematic experience that is both visual and emotional.
My Sunshine will be released in cinemas from December 25, 2024.
Synopsis: On the island of Hokkaido, winter is field hockey season for the boys. Takuya, on the other hand, is more captivated by Sakura, just arrived from Tokyo, who is practicing figure skating routines. He clumsily tries to imitate her, so much so that Sakura's coach, touched by his efforts, decides to train them as a duo for an upcoming competition... As winter progresses, a harmony develops between them despite their differences. But the first snows melt, and spring arrives, inevitably.
My Sunshine appeals to audiences with a taste for contemplative narratives and coming-of-age stories marked by minimalist aesthetics. Those who appreciate works such as Hirokazu Kore-eda 's A Family Affair or Still Walking will find a similar restraint in the approach to emotions.
Fans of intimate Japanese films and poetic narratives should be seduced by Hiroshi Okuyama's work, which plays on the unspoken and the realistic to elicit emotion. What's more, the authenticity of the young actors, selected for their skating skills before their acting abilities, lends the film a raw, natural aspect. On the other hand, the film's slow pace and low-key script may not suit viewers looking for more dramatic or explicit narratives.
Inspired by his own memories, Hiroshi Okuyama recounts a world that is both intimate and universal. The director's difficulty in finding an actress to play the role of Sakura, who masters both ice skating and ice dancing, testifies to the artistic rigor and authenticity sought in this project.
Okuyama's approach of improvising dialogue and letting the actors make the scenes their own promises a singular realism and an almost documentary-like experience in his depiction of human relationships.
With My Sunshine, Hiroshi Okuyama offers a poetic drama in which figure skating becomes a metaphor for adolescent complicity and fragility. Anchored in striking winter landscapes, this film is an invitation to contemplation and should appeal to viewers in search of a subtle, delicate work. Presented at the Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section, this project promises to appeal to audiences sensitive to the beauty of suspended moments and universal tales of learning.
This article is based on information available online; we have not yet viewed the film or series mentioned.
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