Japanese Reviews

Film Review: Summer Blooms (2017) by Ryutaro Nakagawa

Hatsumi Takimoto has found some solidarity within her life, having given up on her job as a teacher and working part time at a small family run cafe. However, the past she fled from begins to creep up on her when a former student of hers, a struggling Jazz Singer, asks for her help in escaping from an abusive relationship. This confrontation forces Hatsumi to reflect on her past and the romantic ideals she has suppressed after the death of her previous partner.
Furthering disrupting Hatsumi's attempt to conceal her past, the cafe closes, which causes a regular customer to confess his feelings for her. Meanwhile, a former co-worker going on maternity leave, tries to convince Hatsumi to get back into teaching. With all these changes at once, Hatsumi realizes that in order to move forward with her life she must confront her past and decides to head back to the town where her deceased lover grew up to make amends with his family.
Within her script, Ryotaro Nakagawa is able to convey a humanistic tale of the process of dealing with loss at a time that is not always explored as deeply in film. Given that the movie takes place three years after the death of her partner, the narrative covers the sorrow that can be built years after one's passing.

The script does seem to stumble a bit at first, as Hatsumi's withdrawn and shy nature is not really explained through her actions.
This makes the overall story and script a bit conflicting as I found, until the further exploration of a loved one passing, that Hatsumi was a rather dull and uninspired character. This takes a drastic shift near the end of the film, in what feels like, a movie where the ending was well thought out and the process to get to the ending was forcefully written with less direction. However, this should not act as a flaw that takes over the whole production, as the closing act has a profound sense of sadness, which transforms the film's overall narrative with more strength and depth than when it is first presented.
The stand out performance in “” comes by way of Aki Asukura as Hatsumi as she is able to convey a wide range of emotions in a convincing fashion, with the greatest example being her coming to terms with the family of her deceased partner. Of note, is the scene where she makes a confession to the man's mother, where her ability to convey humility and a deep sense of loss acts as an exclamation point on her overall performance.

, although has a brief appearance as the troubled ex student turned Jazz musician Kaede, gives a great debut performance, creating a fragility and quirkiness which acts as a good catalyst into Hatsumi's tale of self redemption. With solid performances from the two main female actors, the overall cast is let down a bit by , who plays a romantic suitor to Hatsumi. With a performance that is awkward, poorly written and punctuated by long, awkward stares which show an unhealthy obsession with Hatsumi, it really takes you out of the narrative and removes the attention from the more deserved main in Hatsumi. Granted, that everyone has different perspectives on what makes up a good romantic partner in a film, and others may be more forgiving of his performance. It does serve as a saving grace that the film shifts away from a traditional romantic tale and instead focuses on the protagonist's search for self redemption.

“Summer Blooms” starts as a rather dull and unengaging tale, with a confusing narrative, making the majority of the production a bit of a patience tester. However, the ending packs such a strong emotional punch that just heightens the entire production into a well executed drama with a great lead in Aki Asukura. My enjoyment of the film hindering on the ending may not translate to all audiences and even in that regard, I couldn't help feeling that, with such a strong ending, the director could have done something in order to better use the opening segments to reach the conclusion. Overall, “Summer Blooms” is a competent drama, solidified by a tear jerking ending, which should warm most viewers up to the story that Ryutaro Nakagawa weaves.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUatv-UeZWs

About the author

Adam Symchuk

Adam Symchuk is a Canadian born freelance writer and editor who has been writing for Asian Movie Pulse since 2018. He is currently focused on covering manga, manhwa and light novels having reviewed hundreds of titles in the past two years.

His love of film came from horror and exploitation films from Japan that he devoured in his teens. His love of comics came from falling in love with the works of Shuzo Oshimi, Junji Ito, Hideshi Hino, and Inio Asano but has expanded to a general love of the medium and all its genres.

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