Naoko

Genre: Drama
Starring: Juri Ueno, Haruma Miura, Tsurube Shofukutei
Release year: 2008
Language: Japanese
Subtitle: English

SYNOPSIS:
Naoko meets Yusuke while staying on an island for medical treatment. Yusuke's graceful athletic figure captivates her eyes and she falls in love with him. But their relationship is soon broken after Yusuke's father dies while trying to save Naoko from drowning. The memory of Yusuke leads Naoko to the track, and six years later, they meet each other again at a Marathon competition. Naoko decides to become a manager to help Yusuke, a gifted runner, and they embark on training together to heal their sorrows from the past.



RATING: 8/10
USER RATING:

REVIEW:
"... In a Hollywood movie, the dramatic arc would come from the budding romance of Naoko and Yusuke, but in "Naoko" that arc flatlines early on. Instead of the bloom of young love, the story revolves around Naoko's attempts to win Yusuke's forgiveness, symbolized by her passing him a bottle of water — and him accepting it. In her first, freelance attempt to hand him water during a race, he refused it — and lost. Now that she is his manager — an official water giver, so to speak — will his attitude change?

Director Tomoyuki Furumaya beefs up this thinnish premise with sub-plots, including the portly coach's health crises, the struggles of the team's weakest runner and the rivalry between Yusuke and the pony-tailed ace of Nagasaki ekiden's top-ranked team. But the relationship of the two principals stays static and standoffish, with Yusuke loping effortlessly ahead of his teammates like a young god, as Naoko looks on, her lovely brow furrowed, wondering how to chip away at his shell.

Furumaya films the big race — staged as Naoko's final chance for closure — as a series of manga panels, complete with cartoony running styles and corny monologues from the runners ("Now show them you can run!" etc.) Some of the running sequences, particularly the duel between Yusuke and his rival, are dynamic and lyrical. The climax, though, feels preordained and flat — we've seen too early and too clearly what is coming.

Ueno plays Naoko with an appealing dedication — even her running is passionately expressive — but she can't effectively widen her narrow role. My solution? Switch the sexes of the two principals, but let Ueno's character keep her basic dilemma. An ace runner in a race with, not just her rivals, but a demon from her own past? Now that sounds like a movie. "

Source: Japan Times

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