Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama
Starring: Erika Sawajiri, Yagira Yuya, Natsuki Mari, Yo Oizumi, Bo-lin Chen
Release year: 2006
Language: Japanese
Subtitle: English
SYNOPSIS:
Recently graduated from high school, 17-year-old Shiro (Yagira Yuya) decides to put off college and work at a gas station instead. Shy and introspective, Shiro understands he is at a turning point of his life, but is unsure of what lies ahead. Though his parents disapprove of his decision, he has the support of his flower child grandmother (Natsuki Mari) who declares that a gas station is a romantic place for life's drifters. Surely enough, soon a new co-worker, college student Noriko (Erika Sawajiri), drifts into Shiro's life. He falls headfirst into a bittersweet first love that ushers him into the world of adulthood
RATING: 8/10
USER RATING:
REVIEW:
" ...Director Isamu Nakae, who last directed the pretty-but-empty Calmi Cuori Appassionati, thankfully drops most of his feature debut's artistic pretentiousness for Sugar and Spice, but what he does keep is its visual hollowness. From its art direction to its cinematography, Sugar and Spice is more beautifully crafted than a teen romance probably should be. However, the script by Fumie Mizubashi (who also wrote Calmi Cuori Appassionati) plays up the emotions without rightfully earning them. Mizubashi spends plenty of time building Shiro's character, but doesn't spend nearly enough time setting up Noriko and the romance itself. In turn, the audience cares about the romance only because they like Shiro, but the film unfairly vilifies Noriko. In fact, no one really knows what Noriko sees in Shiro - she confesses that she likes him after they've barely gotten to know one another. Fortunately, the romance doesn't feel like much of a stretch because Shiro is such a likable character.
Of course, Shiro is also likeable because he's played by Yuya Yagira. Playing someone two years older than he really is (and at that age, it actually makes a difference), Yagira carefully blends maturity and boyish charm as Shiro. While Shiro is initially written as an introvert surrounded by eccentric characters like his grandmother and his best friend, the script eventually allows Shiro to grow into his own character rather than remaining the straight man in the midst of the eccentricities around him. No longer having to play a tragic character like the one in Nobody Knows, it's refreshing to see Yagira actually performing comedic moments. Erika Sawajiri looks pretty in her role as the object of Yagira's affections, but the lack of a solid backstory means that Sawajiri doesn't really get a chance to stretch for her role. Thanks to her looks, Noriko is instantly likable, but as mentioned before, the lack of characterization for Noriko also means that her character is hard to identify with, regardless of how accomplished Sawajiri may be as an actress. Despite possessing only one well developed protagonist, Sugar and Spice features surprisingly strong supporting characters. Veteran actress Mari Natsuki captures the eccentric grandmother character without going over-the-top and steals every scene she's in. Even Taiwanese actor Wilson Chen impresses, sporting surprisingly strong Japanese skills during his key moment in his role as Natsuki's young foreign lover. However, like Sawajiri, he isn't given much to do and is ultimately wasted.
Running just over two hours, Sugar and Spice is surprisingly involving. Nakae opts for a film that favors exposition and character study over story, which could've made the two hours a pretty-looking bore. Thankfully, the characters and the romance remain engaging, making Sugar and Spice an appealing film with photogenic stars, but a story that's hard to relate to. Furthermore, the filmmakers shift things in another direction during the third act, reminding us that Sugar and Spice is really a coming-of-age story. It ends on an upbeat note, but the ending nevertheless left me a little bummed out. Perhaps that is the lesson of Sugar and Spice, that young adult life can be as sweet as dating Erika Sawajiri, but it can also be bitter as well. Perhaps Yuya Yagira hasn't really lightened up after all. "
Source: LoveHKFilm
PREVIEW:
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