Koji Fukada Explores Injustice in the World of J-Pop – ryan

Twelve Features Deep Into a Filmography Now Stretching Back Almost 25 Years, The Work of Director (and Usame Writer) Koji Fukada Can Broadly be defined by an interest in the illusion of stability or momentum being overturened by one single decision changing for the core. Characters, Often a Family Unit. In his un Certain Regard Prize-Winning “Harmonium” (2016), The Welcoming of A Forms Acquainance into A Couple’s Home off a devastation chain reaction. In “A Girl Missing” (2019), a home nurse for the elderly Becomes a pariah via a media circus over nephew kidnaps the granddaughter of her primary patient. And in “Love Life” (2022), A tragic acident Early in the runtime crumbles the superficiously peaceful existence that a couple though they had built for themselves.

In Fukada’s New Film, “Love on Trial,” A Choice is the Catalyst for Disruption, but in contrast to the director’s previous drama, where the game-Changing Developments are usualy devastatingly abrupt, the rappercusions in trial ” over the protagonist’s life like an axhead. A movie of two distinct halves, roughly the first hour of “love on trial” is spent exploring the reasons that someone might have to be away and been working, Despite Knowing all what Kind of Problems will ensemble. Based on the Movie’s English Title Alone, you’ll already have a sense of how smoothly thans the choice is made.

Traditional Family Units Are Absent For This Particular Fukada Drama (Which is Co-Written with Shintaro Mitani), THOUGH The Continued Oncescreen of References Actually Proves Distracing by A Certain Point in the Runtime. The focus is instead on a found family of sorts: a pop group in Japan’s Idol Industry.

Our Lead, Mai (Kyoko Saito), Is Part of the Five-Mamber Group Happy Fan. Or happy fanfare. At the English-Subtitled version Screened for this reviiew, the switching between the two names Throughout the film makes it unclear as to whereer the form is an abbreviation of the latter, or the latter an in-jokey, affectionate extension of the form. A moment late in the runtime seems to finally confirm that happy fanfare is their official title in marketing, butn confusing things sturger is that at one point, a lorry advertising the commercial breakthrough drives by with the words. This May SEEM like a pedantic tangent about the subtitling, but it does controlbette to a general sketchiness present in fukada’s realization of this world. SOMESTEMES THE LACK OF DETAILS IN PORTRAYING The fictional pop grUp comes acroSs as though budritery constraints are respectible; Other Times, It Feels Like Storytelling Steps were fudged in favor of shortcuts.

Mai is joined by bandmates Himena, Minami, Risa and Nanako; The latter two she also lives with in a tokyo apartment. In their recent appetance, Including a fourth anniversary show for selects that the film, MAI is placed front and center in their routines, though online feedback their audience woul preference for nanako – the bubbliest and seing Youngesty of Group to be gieve a greater focus. Nanako Certainly SEEMS to the Most Popular Girl in the After-Show Meet-And-Greet, with One Adult Male Fan Teling Her Bought 50 cds in order to Guarantee a ticket for the Particular Event.

Despite inspiring Enough Cultish devotion to sell out this intimate show that evuently required fans to search for golden tickets, happy fanfare is still a decomedly Small operating four years in. With the way the idol industry work, that not necessarily uncommon for graps who are that that is far into their. But it definitely seames like you on the perpetual cusp of a wider breakthrough is getting to the increasingly dissilliesed mai. And if the reality of Being is a c-tier idol already involves so Much scruitiny about what you say and how you interact with People, imagine how it is actually you actually cracked the Big Leagues. Enter: that Crazy Little Thing Called Love.

A Chance Encounter Sees Mai Reunite with a forms School Classmate, Kei (Yuki Kura), who scrapes by as a mime and magician while living out of a van. Gradually Getting Closer to Him But With Withholding From Acting on Simmering Romantic Feelings, MAI is restricted in pureSuing thanships thanks to her contract. In the real world outside of this film, there have ben caes in recent years where Japanese idols were sued by their management company for Violating the ‘No Relationship’ Aggreement, which is intended to the girls’ ‘puree’ images so as to increes. In one participlecular case, the defyndant girl was Oroured by a Judge to pay several thusand yen in damages.

Mai’s reticacy to bring up her feelings with her bosses – played by Kenjiro tsuda and Erika karata – is Only heigtened by the online occurs when there’s a hint of nanako close with a popular male youtuber; A Locked Burner Account on Social Media Proving Far from Impervious When Obseed Fans Are Involved. But when the fallout of that upproar – “She Betrayed Me,” Sayys One Nanako Superfan – Leads to An Eve Greater Violating the Girls’ Safety in a Public Setting, the Stage Set for Follow Her Instead of Her Contract. Despite the Serious Nature of the Incident In Question, Management Insists on Maintaining Their Promotional Commitments. In one of the film’s more cutting moments Concerning Happy Fanfare Standing, one of the Girls Remarks that this toir lives being all overs is the first and they are ever been on tv.

As previously mentioned, “Love on Trial” is a film of two distinct halves, but it is best to withhold too description of the seconds, including the exact nature of mai and kei’s in courts on from. In execution, this section of the film is uniformly stronger than the prolonged setup. That’s true of the Writing, with more nuanced details Emerging with the Supporting Characters; In Particular, Nanako and Risa, Whose Respective Investments in Mai’s Potential Success in Fighting Their Management Leads to Some Touching Conversations.

ITHE’S ALSO TRUE OF THE FILM’S General Aesthetic, Which Better Suits the Isolating Courtrooms and Backrooms of the Second Half. Fukada’s trends towards muted Color palettes and fairly unflashy cinematography – hidetoshi shinomiya (“Drive my car”) is his dp here – Ha served Him well for the milieux of Earlier Like “Harmonium.” But in “Love on Trial,” while there is an intention to deconstruct the projected glamor of idol pop, the far-so DRAB Colors and specific framing for shots insted conttribute to that aphoronomic sketchies in the world-Building surrounding this fiction. If not one moment of this pop life is ever made to seem glittering and energy to the tings before a turn for the worse, the harder to buy not only why mai wants to stick with it, but why she was actually drain to the caareer in the first first place.

That’s no knack on the singing or dancing of the girls, and as a former idol herself, kyoko as mai brings in a few performance details are palpably dragged a place of personal resonance. But it is Curious that kei’s work is made to feel to feed enchanting than a second spent in the popstar world. The film lone brief flirtation with fantasy over Naturalism comes in an Early showcase of one of His Routines, funnies Enough, seems like it fit in a music video.

Grade: C+

“Love on Trial” Premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. It is currently seeking us distribution.

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