Following in the footsteps of Naoko Ogigami's “Close-Knit”, but in a much more cheerful approach, “Lovely Little Ai” won both the Entertainment Award and the Cinema Fan Award at the 2021 PIA Film Festival.
“Lovely Little Ai” is screening at InlanDimensions
16-year-old Ai Shimizu has been in trouble ever since her mother died, since her strict and overprotective father has imposed on her a number of rules that essentially dictate her whole life, from the way she dresses, to her everyday schedule which only comprises of studying, stripped from any kind of “fun”, and a strict curfew of 6pm. Furthermore, since her father is busy all the time, Ai finds herself constantly alone, not to mention that the rules do not allow her to have any friends. One day, though, she bumps into transgender Seiko, and despite her initial reluctance, soon finds herself having a mentor, who also fills the gap her mother left. As she enters the pink, star-studded world of Seiko, Ai finally gets herself a sense of fashion, manages to open up, and even gets some friends from school on her path to popularity. Furthermore, she attracts the attention of Ryo, a new student, who, despite his evident lack of style seems to have genuine feelings for her. Lastly, we also learn of the torments Seiko has suffered from her father when she was young, while a number of secrets that eventually threaten their relationship also comes to the fore.
Candice Mana Ono directs a quirky comedy, in the style frequently met in Japanese cinema, with the overall style being dictated by two elements for the most part. The first one is the production values, with the vividly pink-colored world Seiko lets Ai in, the swooshing, quite rapid cuts by Ono's own editing, the frequent music-video like sequences, and the job done in the costumes by Ami Takahashi creating a rather appealing setting, which is also the root of the comedy aspect here. The cinematography by Masatoshi Kure, Sho Kojima, Tomohiro Obata, Yu Tamura, and Yugo Sawaki (not sure why so many) capture all the aforementioned in the best fashion, with the visuals being one of the most appealing aspects of the movie.
The second element is the performance by Akane Sakanoue in the protagonist role, whose transformation from a nerdy loner to a school-fashion icon, and a girl willing to confront her father and everyone around her who try to pin her down, being rather rewarding. Sakanoue appears almost in every scene, filling the screen with cheerfulness, in a style, though, that never becomes annoying, as is occasionally the case in similar Japanese films.
On the other hand, Hisao Kurozumi's acting as Seiko occasionally goes beyond measure, while the dramatic scenes could have been handled a bit better, something that also applies to Kan Hotoda, who plays Ai's father. Furthermore, the flashbacks on Seiko's past seem somewhat disconnected from the main narrative, also in the way that are forced within it, while the twists revealed close to the end, are far-fetched.
Apart from these issues, however, “Lovely Little Ai” emerges as a rather easy movie to watch, particularly due to the entertainment it offers, the visuals, and Sakanoue's performance.
