Melbourne International Film Festival Review - My Sunshine

 

“Takuya is very bad at skating.”

Tender, sweet and gentle, My Sunshine is a subdued coming-of-age story of a young boys first crush and the ice skating coach who helps him get to know the girl he has admired from afar, in a sensitive portrayal of male mentorship and innocent young love, that unfortunately doesn’t quite stick the landing after it sweeps you of your feet. 

Discussion Points:

This movie made me feel fuzzy pretty frequently. So warm and feel-good despite the cold winter setting. And then the “twist” happens and disappointingly the film doesn’t really recover and ends up finishing rather abruptly without the expected resolution. I was anticipating another 15 minutes that never arrived and was left feeling odd after such a predominately tender time. But muddled ending aside, the majority of My Sunshine is a beautiful and sweet film. Visually gorgeous with some stunning skating sequences, and with some incredibly sweet child performances, I was swept off my feet until the film failed to stick the landing. Keitatsu Koshiyama is so genuine and heartfelt as the shy stuttering Takuya, whilst Kiara Nakanishi is radiant as the talented young skater Sakura. Their coach Arakawa, played gently by Sōsuke Ikematsu helps guide their young love and their developing talent, but sadly we never get to see either really reach their full culmination. Still a really sweet and beautiful film, but it trips and slips in its final moments.