Movie Review: Koizora or Sky of Love (2007)

In light of Miura Haruma's death, I wasn't sure if I should post this movie review yet or not. But I feel like it's a disservice to his memory to not talk about his body of work. I think it'll help me a bit in the grieving process too. So here we go.

Koizora or Sky of Love (Japanese live-action film)

Year: 2007

Starring: Miura Haruma and Aragaki Yui

Story Synopsis for Sky of Love

Good girl Mika is the apple of her parents' eyes. She's always been obedient, sweet, and cute. Then the day before spring break starts she loses her cell phone, finds it in the school library, and takes a call from a strange boy who refuses to give her his name. Fascinated by the mysterious voice on the other end of her phone, Mika spends countless hours in conversation with him every day throughout the break.

The first day back in school, also her birthday, she officially meets him. He is a boy from Class D named Hiro, with bleached blonde hair and earrings, every parents' worst nightmare. Her first response is what you would expect, shock and discomfort at his appearance, especially since she had seen him at school and was uncomfortable at that time too. What's worse is that he brings her a birthday gift that is a little flower that he pulled up the entire plant from a flower bed on his way to school.

Mika leaves him on the rooftop of their school, hoping that she'll never see him again. On her way home, however, she finds Hiro carefully replacing the plant that he'd uprooted, giving it fertilizer and watering it, revealing a different side to him than she had originally seen. After all, the Hiro in her phone conversations is the real boy, not just a stereotype of a teenage delinquent. Hiro is different than she had originally thought and so begins a relationship that is both sweet and painful, as all teenage love affairs seem to be.

My Thoughts on Sky of Love

Sky of Love is a radiant, melancholy film that is one of my favorites and has been since I first saw it.

The Acting

This was pretty much Miura Haruma's breakout into popularity as an actor. He would have been 16 or 17 at the time of filming, which is remarkable to think of now because his emotional range is so incredible in Sky of Love, more than you would expect from a teenager. He really shines in this role, possessing a certain brutal wildness yet gentle compassion. Miura managed to bring both attributes to the screen in the role of Hiro.

Partnered with Miura Haruma, Aragaki Yui gave an equally phenomenal performance as Mika. Just as Miura exuded a certain tender wildness, Aragaki exuded a timid hesitation that grew into a fierce strength. She gave an exceptional performance and she and Miura paired so well together. They presented a remarkable intimacy on the screen that makes Sky of Love timeless.

The Story

The story itself deals with a lot of common issues among youth such as drinking, teen pregnancy, teen delinquency, and a couple of other topics that are getting more recognition from American audiences in recent years. I won't go into details of those topics in case anyone reading this review decides to watch the film. I want you to be surprised. Not all tales have a happy ending, at least, not a happily ever after kind of ending. But there are enough happily every after stories in the world that sometimes we need one that is bittersweet. Because our lives are bittersweet.

The Screenplay

In my opinion, the screenplay is a superior one. Details of the story are not given away immediately, instead they are kept in suspense for awhile. I've also seen the drama series Koizora which is the exact same story with different actors told over 6 hours instead of 2. The drama series gives away too much so there is no suspense, no wondering why characters are behaving in a certain manner. With Sky of Love, the audience is allowed to feel hurt and anger over behaviors that we think don't make sense until we finally understand the reasons why. Those reasons are held back for a good long while.

Objectionable Content

Viewers can expect a small amount of language (in subtitles), a violent fight scene between Hiro and a group of young men, a blessedly non-graphic rape scene, two non-explicit sex scenes (this means no nudity, no movement), a scene where a third-party female is threatened with murder but instead has her hair cut off to shame her, and a bit of a tame orgy scene of underage drinking and making out (the legal drinking age in Japan is 20, so these kids would have been well under that age).

All the Feels

Sometimes I think I must be a glutton for punishment. Crying during movies or books is a semi-regular past-time for me now, so I wept bitterly during Sky of Love, but in an almost cleansing way. It hurts now, knowing that Miura Haruma is gone. It hurts knowing that we will never again see a new version of his radiant smile and that there will never be an announcement of a new project he's participating in. The pain and the loss cut deeply, more deeply than I thought possible.

But I am also thankful. I'm thankful for the roles where he really shone and excelled. And I'm thankful that his memory is preserved like this. I will never stop grieving his tragic death, and I will never stop wondering why he felt the need to take his own life. But I can keep watching his work as a way of honoring his memory.

Thank you, Miura-san, for all of the smiles and the talent you shared with the world. I'm sorry the burden became too heavy.