Summary
An endearing and heartfelt adaptation of a popular manga/anime that pays close attention to the period details, and will no doubt encourage you to seek out the original stories for even more time with these characters.
Whiplash eat your heart out! Based on the popular period manga, and later an anime series, KIDS ON THE SLOPE (坂道のアポロン) combines the chaotic emotions of coming of age in the 1960s with the controlled chaos of jazz.
The brainy but introverted Kaoru Nishimi (Yuri Chinen) moves out to a town around the Nagasaki prefecture due to his father’s work. An unlikely friendship forms between him and rough-around-the-edges Sentaro Kawabuchi (Taishi Nakagawa) and the pretty Ritsuko Mukae (Nana Komatsu) when they start playing jazz together Kaoru’s piano and Sentaro’s drums form a synchronicity that transcends their backgrounds.
There’s so much story packed into a 2-hour film that Izumi Takahashi’s (Tori Girl) almost invites you to go back to the source material. Nevertheless, the film is dripping with period detail. It’s the post-war optimism of Always: Sunset on Third Street filtered through the intensity of teenagers struggling to find their place in the world. It’s a shame that this single film tries to tie everything up in a single outing as there’s so many side threads that are left lingering.
Having said that, director Takahiro Miki (My Teacher) is almost slavishly faithful to the look and feel of Yuki Kodama’s manga. Early in the film, there’s an exaggerated rooftop fight that hits an over-the-top set of emotions that works better on panel than it does on screen. On the other hand, Sentaro’s hat and striped shirt will no doubt please the faithful fans from way back, even if it looks slightly ridiculous.
It’s a good thing that Taishi Nakagawa’s powerhouse performance overshadows any aesthetic qualities. Best known for his TV roles in Boys Over Flowers and GTO, he follows his lead role in last year’s ReLIFE with an angst-filled portrayal of a teen being torn apart by his own passions. Yuri Chinen (Mumon: The Land of Stealth) is a solid counterpoint. The actor spent a significant amount of time practicing the piano and it shows. It’s unfortunate that Nana Komatsu is not much more than a (literal) cheer squad for the boys.
The tide of manga adaptations will never stop, providing fertile ground for the prolific Japanese film industry. KIDS ON THE SLOPE is a solid and endearing version of some award winning source material that still clearly means a lot to a great number of people.
2018 | Japan | DIRECTOR: Takahiro Miki | WRITERS: Izumi Takahashi, Yuki Kodama (manga) | CAST: Yuri Chinen, Taishi Nakagawa, Nana Komatsu | DISTRIBUTOR: Toho, Asmik Ace Entertainment (JPN) | RUNNING TIME: 120 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 10 March 2018 (JPN)
