This one's a beautiful, tender, quiet romantic drama with a moody atmosphere, set in a tight knit Welsh fishing community. It's a touching story about a man waking up sexually in the middle of his life, and how he, his family, and everyone around him deal with it, which makes it emotional and sentimental without ever getting over the top. The slow burn plays out against a landscape that's as bleak as it is gorgeous, where quiet, closed off men are stuck inside rigid ideas of what masculinity should be. Some people might be reminded of "God's Own Country," but I think both films are lovely in their own way. Jack is a middle aged guy who co-owns a mussel farm with his rough around the edges brother Dyfan, and the tension between the two of them is simmering under the surface right from the start. Dyfan's three sons all help out with the work, while Jack's sulky teenage son Tom keeps skipping out. Jack's been with his wife since they were both 16, and...
Aoi is a teacher at an aristocratic boys' high school, who has a one-night stand with a stranger after a breakup. Soon after, transfer student Sora enters Aoi's class and the teacher is surprised to see that he is at the same boy whom he hired. Sora excels both academically and athletically and wants to continue to pursue Aoi who tries to constantly avoid him. Sora's roommate is Mizuki, who is a loner and a nerd and who for some reasons starts to fall for his roommate. But jealousy and bullying provoked from another classmate (who we are later told was Mizuki's lover), Sora starts to distance himself from Mizuki. Mizuki slowly figures out that there is something between Sora and the teacher and tries to blackmail Sora. When that doesn't work, he kills himself because he harbors major crush on Sora. Aoi and Sora's relationship slowly improves, but Aoi makes clear that they cannot have any relationship despite him also liking Sora. Towards the end of the film Mizuki's lover beats Sora very much because he s convinced Mizuki killed himself because of him. The film ends with Aoi taking care of Sora and now that he has passed school, there is potential of them starting to fall in love or at least give it a try.
In the beginning the most intriguing part is the sexual tension. This tension then leads up to much more complex situations and serious problems. There is a lot happening in the school which almost feels like a cat and mouse game between various characters. In between all this, in fact that bond between Aoi and Sora is not given as much prominence as it should have. It feels more like a film about an obsessed roommate (maybe that's why it is also known by its alternate name). Honestly the film is not bad at all, but it feels quite dated and it likely Neds. Abetter print. I am sure if the script is tweaked a little and made again, this could do better. For now, it wasn't bad. (5.5/10)
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