Lots of places tell interesting, funny and at times tragic stories. Japan is no different with Nagasaki, Hiroshima and Fukushima being just a few examples of names that are connected with national and even international tragedies which left a permanent mark. Director Hideyuki Tokigawa was born in Hiroshima and learned about his home’s past from a very young age. However, despite knowing the possible outcome of conflicts, many political leaders along with regular citizens seem to be in favor of the idea of a war, perhaps even using nuclear weapons to emphasize their demands. His 2024 feature “Love Song from Hiroshima” tells a story defined by his memories of his hometown along with the meaning Hiroshima’s past has and its message for the world.
Mocchi (Ryousuke Sota) and Ayaka (Shiori Akita) have been friends for as long as they can remember. Mocchi is secretly in love with Ayaka, so when he hears about her plan of going to the United States to study, he loses hope of ever being her boyfriend. However, in order to afford the tuition fees in the US, Ayaka’s employer has given her an almost impossible task. In order to boost his radio station’s social media account, she only has a couple of hours to add a picture or video which reaches 100.000 likes. She asks Mocchi to help her to which he hesitantly agrees.
On their tour through Hiroshima, they run into a strange man (Chase Ziegler), a US tourist. Mocchi is able to convince him to accompany the two of them as they show him the most famous and their personal sights in the city. Soon they notice something strange about their acquaintance, who has seemingly never heard of a mobile phone before and whose pictures gain Ayaka a great number of likes. As news travel around of aliens visiting the earth and having landed in Hiroshima, Mocchi begins to suspect the tourist might be from somewhere further away than the USA.
Considering its story and characters, you can surely expect a fair amount of romance and kitsch from “Love Song from Hiroshima”. There are moments, especially in the finale, which contain quite a lot of these, making them “too sweet” to handle for some viewers perhaps. At the same time, you cannot deny Hideyuki Tokigawa’s feature has got a lot of respect for the kind of memory evoked by Hiroshima’s urban landscape and especially sights such as the Peace Park, the Atomic Bomb Dome or the plane trees, which stand as a memorial to the tragic events of 1945 and their aftermath. Memory is embedded in this place, with Ivan Kovac‘s cinematography highlighting the link between the past and the present. Indeed, it is also a part of the movie’s core message, especially when two people from different generations meet, sharing their memories.
These ideas are also the driving force for the relationship of Ayaka and Mocci as well as their development throughout the story. Whether it was really a good choice to implement elements of science fiction and certain conspiracy theories in the plot is debatable, but the two main characters manage to carry the story through some of the hurdles along the way. Shiori Akita and Ryousuke Sota give solid performances as young people who have found their own ways of dealing with a past that is constantly “shoved down our throats” as Mocchi puts it. Sota especially has some of the best moments of the feature, highlighting his character’s struggle of finding meaning and his feeling of helplessness in the light of global conflicts you cannot influence. His character expresses the idea of peace in the world, which should be something people strive for instead of conflicts and warmongering.
While you cannot fault “Love Song from Hiroshima” for its message and main characters, you need to point out the side characters, more precisely the non-Japanese ones. Given the definition of the character they are playing, this might excuse it a little bit, but the acting and delivery in some of their scenes comes off as quite stiff. This would not matter too much if it wasn’t for some of the other performances, for example, the actor playing the head of the anti-Alien agency (?) who seems to think he is in a comedy.
“Love Song from Hiroshima” is not a flawless feature, but it has a good message and the two leads deliver some solid performances. Hideyuki Tokigawa also succeeds when it comes to respecting what Hiroshima stands for and making his audience understand its meaning for our present.
