"Love my life"

("Rabu mai Raifu" - Japan)

A Love My Life Partners production. Produced by Takeshi Katayama.
Directed by Koji Kwano. Screenplay, Hiroko Kanasugi, from a manga by Ebine Yamaji.
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With: Rei Yoshii, Asami Imajuku, Ira Ishida, Issei Takahashi, Kami Hiraiwa, Naomi Akimoto.

A warm-and-fuzzy lesbian love story in which everybody is pretty and every cloud is composed exclusively of silver linings, Koji Kawano's adaptation of Ebine Yamaji's romantic manga exerts a perky pink charm that proves difficult to resist. "Love My Life's" relentlessly upbeat tone can be ascribed to its bubbly young heroine and her unambiguous, irrepressible happiness at loving and being loved in return. Though it occasionally veers toward cutesy, pic rarely cloys, maintaining a firm visual control that encompasses and surpasses its protag's guileless perspective. Likable "Love" should rep a cheerful addition to any gay-themed lineup.

Pic's pastel-colored serenity encompasses lecture halls and multileveled apartments with ease, moving from intimate closeups to medium shots without tension -- as if the social context were simply an organic, more complex development of private moments.

Opening presents sprightly college student Ichiko (Rei Yoshii) and her quieter, more troubled g.f. Eri (Asami Imajuku) as an already established couple. Ichiko's decision to come out to her supportive dad (Ira Ishida) kicks off the drama, but in totally unexpected ways: Not only does he accept her sexual orientation, but he also reveals that he and her long-dead mother were both gay, too. Though ultimately welcome, this revelation is extremely disconcerting at first, as Ichiko must rethink her entire past, meeting up with her father's longtime b.f. and her mother's ex-lover along the way.

But all is grist for the coming-of-age learning mill, as Ichiko's period of readjustment grants her a personal history lesson in the limited options available to gays, while her male best friend, Takechan (Issei Takahashi), provides a reality check on how difficult it can be to lay claim to a same-gender sexual orientation, particularly for guys.

Up until this point, all of Ichiko's life lessons come painlessly sugar-coated, her dad's homosexuality only adding to their loving rapport. The worst Takechan's homophobic schoolmates have to offer is mere mockery (not even directly aimed at him).

But when Ichiko's soulmate Eri abruptly calls off their relationship until after she takes her law school exams, her universe crumbles. Unable to accept the separation, Ichiko becomes uncharacteristically mopey, until her dad intervenes, ultimately paving the way for a happy ending.

Thesps are all extremely personable and easy on the eye. Tech credits are patently pro but never slick.

© Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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