User Reviews

Miike Takashi's "Ai To Makoto" (Love and Truth/Sincerity AKA "For Love's Sake") is an ambitious romantic drama whose novel movie musical approach may leave some audiences scratching their heads but is none-the-less an entertaining and enjoyable film if somewhat goofy at times. This isn't the first film adaptation of prolific manga writer Kajikawa Ikki's ("Ashita No Joe", "Tiger Mask") classic 1974 "seishun" (youth) love story series. Shochiku Studios released a three-part film series from 1974-1976 featuring 70s Japanese pop singing star Saijo Hideki as the heroic Taiga Makoto (in the later films Nanjou Koji and Kano Ryu would take over the role) and in a somewhat shameless gimmick an actress actually named Saotome Ai" portraying the series heroine of the same name. About that same time a TV drama series was also produced featuring Natsu Yusuke and Ikegami Kimiko in the title roles. Both adaptations did a good job at bringing writer Kajikawa and artist Nagayasu Takumi's landmark manga series to life. The tragic love story between a bad-boy rebel and a privileged and naive rich girl was rich in melodrama, teen angst and 70s anti-establishment rebelliousness which resonated much among young readers. Although not as groundbreaking as his "Ashita No Joe" (which was also recently adapted into a feature film), "Ai To Makoto" still earned a devoted fan following over the years since.

Which brings us to Miike's latest adaptation of the manga series which is quite a departure from his usual eclectic work. Although Miike is often known for his dark, twisted, bloody, "grindhouse-like" earlier works like "Ichi The Killer", "Audition" and "Gozu", he has in recent years shown much range and diversity by branching out into a wide variety of different projects with more mainstream appeal like "Ace Attorney", "Crows Zero", "Yatterman" and "13 Assassins". "Ai To Makoto" is not Miike's only foray into the movie musical genre as he delivered a fairly interesting example with his "Katakuri-ke no kôfuku AKA The Happiness of the Katakuris" (2001) which could only be described as a "murder musical" along the lines of Tim Burton's "Sweeney Todd". "Ai No Makoto" is a pretty unique film as offhand, I can't really recall any recent examples of Japanese film Musicals equivalent to "Mama Mia", "Slumdog Millionaire" or "Moulin Rouge".

Miike's "Ai To Makoto" seems to be inspired a lot by Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo + Juliet" (1996). Not only do they share a similar look and feel but they also oddly enough share a similar "star-crossed lovers" type of storyline as well.

Like that film, the musical numbers include a number of familiar songs which are covered by the cast. Unless you lived in Japan during the 70s or are a fan of "kayokyoku" (Japanese Pop and folk music), foreign audiences may not really identify with the "Ai To Makoto's" soundtrack which reads like a play list for 70s Japan. While we don't get any iconic songs from Pink Lady, Yamaguchi Momoe or Candies, we do get some minor classics like Nishikino Akira's "Sora No Taiyo Ga Aru Kagari", Kawashima Eigo's "Sake To Namida To Ottoko To Onna" and the late Ozaki Kiyohiko's "Mata Au Hi Made" (my personal favorite). By the way, the song that another reviewer mentioned sounds similar to Kaji Mieko's "Urami Bushi" is Sono Mari's "Yume Wa Yoru Hiraku" (1966), a song that was covered by a number of artists in the 70s including Fuji Keiko (JPop singing star Utada Hikaru's mom).

Miike along with screenwriter Takuma Takayuki have taken some liberties with Kajikawa's original story for the interest of plot development and time. A number of major villains in the series including the sadistic whip wielding thug Sado Shun and Gonta's Yakuza crime-lord father Zaoh Yohei are also missing unfortunately.

Miike's direction is consistently great. He has a wonderful stylistic flair and definitely puts it to good use in the film. The cast is superb. Tsumabuki Satoshi ("Villain") impresses once again with yet another very challenging role. With his pretty boy good looks and rebel attitude, Tsumabuki does a good job of bringing to life the somewhat unlikeable character of Makoto. Although he only has one major song/dance sequence, Tsumabuki does showoff some good singing skills with his rendition of Saijo Hideki's "Hageshi Koi", the film's eye-opening beginning number. Takei Emi whose credits include mostly TV dramas like "W no Higeki" and "Liar Game" is also fantastic in this her first feature film. She brings just the right amount of girlish charm and naiveté to her role and she is absolutely fetching as the appropriately named character of "Ai" (love). While her rendition of Kitayama Masashi/Kato kazuhiko's "No Subarashi Ai O Mo Ichido" seemed a bit off-key, Takei's overall performance in the rest of the film was pretty good. The rest of the supporting cast was also exceptional including Saito Takumi ("Uchusenkan Yamato") who portrays Ai's classmate, the academically brilliant but hopelessly awkward Iwashima Hiroshi, who secretly longs for her; fashion model turned actress Ito Ono, who portrays the beautiful but emotionally cold Takahara Yuki, leader of the "Hana Zone Sukeban Girls Gang" whose deadly skill with throwing knives is to be feared; and Ihara Tsuyoshi ("NINJA", "JINGI") who portrays the hulking basher Zaoh Gonta. His rendition of the theme song to the 60's anime series "Okami Shonen Ken" is hilarious. Ando Sakura ("Lifeline", "Torso") is a standout as the wacky "Gum-Ko", a Sukeban with a heart.

Who would have thought Miike could craft a nostalgic and sentimental love story. Those who think Miike has mellowed out and softened however should take comfort in knowing that he returns to his darker side with the just recently released "Aku No Kyoten" (AKA Lessons of Evil) an adaptation of Kishi Yusuke's violent thriller.