Japanese Reviews Reviews Toronto Japanese Film Festival

Film Review: Blue (2021) by Keisuke Yoshida

An idyllic love letter to the world of combative sports

“Nobuto Urita is a boxer who loves his sport more than anything. No matter how hard he tries, he keeps losing his matches. Meanwhile, Kazuki Ogawa who spars with Urita at the same gym is a boxer with elite talent and skills; his eventual road to the championship is assured. Ogawa is also engaged to Chika Amano. She is a childhood friend of Urita and his first love. Also on hand is Narasaki who comes to train simply to look “cool” but discovers his own talent and passion.”

” is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival

Cinema exploring the world of combat sports often chooses one of two paths, either geared towards heavy action sequences capturing the physical prowess of the combatants or drama pieces which examine the personal struggles within the demanding profession. While both of these approaches have their own potential shortcomings, the latter is arguably more difficult to capture in requiring a sincerity and love for the sport. Thankfully, 's “Blue” masterfully explores the dedication, sacrifice and comradery within the world of boxing.

Following three fighters at different points in their career; the timid rookie, gym champion hopeful, and passionate yet low ranked veteran, the production gives each competitor a sense of importance and identity – exploring the importance of different roles that make a successful gym. In this case, Urita (Ken'ichi Matsuyama) suffering from a horrible winning streak acts as the backbone of the gym due to his technical knowledge and analytical mind. Wonderfully realized in a single conversation when championship hopeful Kazuki Ogawa () reminisces on the key difference between passion and talent. Those who follow combat sports know the two are not synonyms and passion does not always translate to talent – a good gym needs passionate people to help push the talented. Ultimately, Yoshida's ability to hone in on such sentiments gives a sincere look into how such environments can succeed (or fail) on the strength of the people behind the scenes.

The amateur fighter in Narasaki () acts as an ideal subject to explore the complexities of the gym as he learns from both Urita and Ogawa to overcome his own fears – striving for strength and confidence through discipline. Finally, Chika Amano () rounds out the cast with a charismatic persona that shows the interpersonal difficulties in relationships with those committed to the sport. Overall, the brilliant script penned by Yoshida seems to be perfectly cast to bring his vision to fruition.

Putting aside clichés like slowed motion or audio distortion to punctuate action, the boxing matches are realistic representations of the sport from the spectator's view. With the major consequences of the fight more prevalent to the drama outside of the matches, this style align perfectly with the narrative. Overall, the cinematography of Takayuki Shida (Who previously worked with Yoshida on “Thicker Than Water” and “Himeanole”) transitions beautifully between the drama and action.

“Blue” is an idyllic love letter to the world of combative sports. A wonderfully crafted drama with strong performances, the film transcends the restraints of being tied to those who have an interest in boxing. Essentially, fans of the sport are likely to come out with a deeper appreciation of the work, but it won't isolate the casual fan. One of the more competent and heartwarming dramas in recent memory, I can't speak the praises of “Blue” highly enough – don't miss out on this one!

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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