Sing in Love

Burn the wicked rich with 95% vodka, literally

This film takes we, the audience on a journey to witness something grotesquely beautiful.
It goes from one train wreck to another train wreck and a couple more incoming.
This film spares no one, not even the kids.

Kiritani was a man who abided the law and bounded by societal expectations.
A man who had a stable job, a normal marriage, a lost ambition and few other secrets kept from his spouse.
He became a man who was once fear of his vulnerability - then shines the most when he weaponised his fear and vulnerability.

Through the eyes of Kiritani who was a victim, survivor, then offender - was his act of revenge justifiable?
This is up to the audience to think.
A dead man can no longer think; well at least someone had a good time in the woods. Heh.

The story plot, cinematography, actors’ performances made this film feel both disgustingly raw and beautifully organic.
Rap scenes and film soundtracks are mesmerising and worth to rewatch.

As an audience, I felt as involved as a bystander.
A bystander who is waiting for everything to collapse, observing a person self-destruct and a madness ensures.
That is how this psychologically complex film felt.

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'wait for me'

intense, dark, with a lot of upsetting themes but i found this movie beautiful.

before you read this review or watch keep in mind the trigger warning for rape, violence, murder and multiple types of assualt (including that of which includes children) as i know there are some scenes that would be very triggering to some.

i don't want to write much as im not one who writes reviews but i waited for this movie for a long time and was not disappointed (though it was not what i expected it to be).

the story follows a elementary school teacher who goes through a traumatic event which leads him to being entangled with a rogue youth who goes by kai just as the synopysis states. both of these characters are very complex and their actions make the audience wonder about their backstories and intent. the story itself has a lot of plot twists and scenes that seem almost impulsive that take the viewer by surprise. there was a large amount of plot points that i did not anticipate at all. the way it is written and plays out is so interesting and very easy to get invested in, the viewer is able to immerse themselves in this world and the fucked up beauty of it. it did get quite confusing at times and im definitely didn't 100% understand everything that happened but that will come with more rewatching and being able to rewatch it with the full context of their backstories etc, plus the subs were quite rough. even if you don't understand everything you always get the gist of what's happening.

the casting was PERFECT. inuba yu did an incredible job as usual and the actor of kai (kenshin endo) completely embodied the role, i found his performance completely mesmerizing and couldn't tear my eyes away from him when he was on screen, both his voice and mannerisms when in character were hypnotic. i hope to see him in more roles asap his acting was phenomenal. i cannot praise it enough.

the relationship between the characters is so so complicated but there was something incredibly alluring about it too. they saved eachother in more ways than one. they were clearly soulmates, half of the same soul. two fragile people finding the one person who they would live and die for over and over again. i could talk about their relationship for hours. the chemistry was INCREDIBLE, the want, need and pure love was clear even if a lot of the time it was never verbalized. watching them made me feel a bit insane. i would give my kidney to see the actors play love interests again.

i could talk about the cinematography, set design, direction, and sound/music for hours. this movie is easily one of my favourites i've seen this year in all those factors. the cinematography is SO visually pleasing, all the colours come together so well and the way it is filmed really makes the viewer feel as if they are IN the scene along with the characters. the set design was beautiful, especially the set of the place where they rapped/seemed to live. the colours, the lighting, all the additions of graffiti and junk came together so well i adored it and couldn't help but appreciate it everytime it was on screen. the sound GOD, i have such a deep appreciation for this movie's use of the affect of music and noise. all the music that was used fit perfectly and always stood out to me, the rapping included. something that reallyy stood out though was the use of background noise, there was always chatter or some type of noise happening in the background in most scenes and it added so much to the realisticness of the movie.

as a whole it was messy and this is definitely not for everyone. you have to go into it with the knowledge that it is supposed to be as messed up as it is, one of the main genres of this movie is pyschological. you aren't supposed to like it you're supposed to understand it, supposed to come away with complex emotions and your head spinning. to me, it had so much meaning (and probably more than im aware of which i will figure out when i watch it again to consolidate my feelings) , and it was just simply beautiful. watch it.

[edit: the more i thought about it and rewatched scenes the more obsessed i became it went from 8.5 > 9. i completely agree with a comment describing it as artistic brillance rather than something that caters to 'usual' audiences. i still levae out that one star just because i wish it were longer. 2 hours is long for a movie but i still wish this much much longer, i could watch kenshin/inaba act together forever, their chemistry is just so incredible]

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Superb movie!

I really love the movie, even more the second time I watched it. The acting was exquisite. The cinematography is gorgeous. I really like the play with the camera, how it sometimes goes from clear, distant third POV to a more intimate POV (like when we are left in the hallway at the parlor as some sort of driver in the getaway car). Kiritani’s downward spiral, the injustice around it, makes it a heart-wrenching watch on its own; the revelation later on is a kick to the feels. I was surprised by how thematically tight the movie is. Like many others, I was a bit disappointed by the ending, but after watching it again, I think I understand the ending better. With that said, I do hope there’s a creator’s commentary on the DVD where they explain some of their choices, with the ending being the center of it.

The movie was originally a manga, and overall they are very similar. Some changes, like the POV-change, were very well done and added to the narrative, in my opinion. For example, in the manga, we get a lot of the story from Kai through internal monologue whereas in the movie he is made a mystery to be figured out with lots of clues dropped along the way.

It seems like many people have watched the movie with little to no subs, and it’s a bit of a shame because you’ll miss out on a lot. There are a lot of clues and cues in the dialogue that pay off in the end and add to the angst and heartache. The importance of words and their meanings are even highlighted in the opening of the movie and then in the middle of it too.

It’s not a movie for everyone. It’s thematically dark with only glimmers of hope. The characters might not be to everyone’s taste either. But as I said, I love it, and will most likely watch it many more times.

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Dark, Dreamlike, and Unrelenting

This is a film about a lot of things: trauma, sexual and social violence, love, desire, and the power of words and music both to injure and to heal. The camerawork, acting, soundtrack, and narrative are all unique and top notch, and I suspect those who wanted a happy ending simply didn't care about the film's central aim, which is illuminating the lasting psychological toll that society can have on those who are vulnerable or simply different.

That said, there are plenty of moments of tenderness and beauty throughout it all. It's not for the faint of heart, but it's worth a watch for anyone who wants to experience a surreal ode to the power of music, language, and love in a brutal world.

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Waste of time.

I'll try not to give any spoilers. I expected something different and truth be said I feel disappointed after watching the whole movie, which I consider a total waste of time.
I still don't know how to evaluate the storyline. Although the dark concept didn't surprise me that much, after all, I thought nothing can beat Eternal Yesterday, but guess what? I was wrong the ending of this movie was a hard face slap.
The movie itself was confusing, weird, and brutal.
Maybe it was because of the poor translation that I couldn't understand a lot of things, and in the end, I was left with unanswered questions, like what was the point of that kid's death?
I was unable to understand Kiritani, his motives, and his actions. His personality is very confusing in my eyes, also he being a victim tried to process the trauma in a completely different way than we would have expected.
The actors gave a 9 out of 10 performance.
The music was annoying.
Overall my rating would be 4 out of ten and I'm not planning to watch this movie again.

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Tried too hard to be deep and complex and made a garbage movie

So I started the movie, really enjoying the ambiance and how it was filmed. But as I get further into the movie, I was confused about if the guy's ra**** is supposed to be the movie's love interest. But then I found out that Kai wasn't his ra****, but still, the things he said to him and how he treated him were not okay. That made the movie unnecessarily triggering. Including all the police scenes. And the dynamic between them was strange and so that was bad.
Also, it's like the movie refuses to see him as an actual victim. Like I can understand if they did that in a satirical way like that's how society actually treats men who have experienced s3xual abuse, but no; the tone conveys that he isn't one and shouldn't feel or be treated as such, and the real victim is Kai. (Kai is a victim but MC was one aswell.)
Also the rap is such a random and unnecessary element of the movie. It's so weird that rap is an integral part of the story. The rapping isn't even that bad, but it just comes across as cringe.
Overall the movie was bad and unnecessarily messy. I wasn't looking for a happy ending because someone who goes through that kind of trauma isn't gonna be all rainbows and sunshine in the end, but still, his death was dumb. The movie was just bad okay!
If you rated this movie high, something is wrong with you. It's like the aesthetic of the movie won you over and how it talks about serious issues, but the truth of the matter is: the movie was poorly written and thought out

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I don't even know how to describe it but somehow I loved it

I don't usually write reviews but here I go cause I need to express what I just watched. it's deeply unsettling, every part of it is. This movie felt like experiencing some kind of nightmare which I somehow really liked. I was deeply involved and watching the chaos unfold in front of my eyes was an experience that I can't describe properly.

This movie isn't for everyone that's for sure:
- it's violent, but violent in such an overbearing way that it feels almost normal. The actors do an amazing job at executing this violence by the way.
- It's very explicit and it has tw for r***. Like seriously I'm not even that triggered by it usually but it's intense.
- It's dark: themes include: child abuse, r***, murder, prostitution, psychological and physical violence... if you are triggered easily or b y any of these themes don't watch it.
- it's not a happy movie. This is as much as I can say without spoiling but don't expect salvation for any of the characters.
- it's very weird: if you don't like indie films or stuff like that it's not the movie you're looking for.
- it's clearly not a "BL" as some might expect. don't mistake it for a love story.
- none of the characters are good people. Not even the main character, though this can be debated.


BUT truly if none of these points bother you then watch it. The psychology, the plot twists, the emotions... it's amazing seriously. The way it looks at trauma is something I've rarely seen : it's violent (if you don't notice the pattern at this point...) but is there any way to deal with trauma that isn't?

Also: I was very impressed by all of the actors, even the children. They made it feel like I was witnessing some kind of tragedy, like it can sometimes feel in nightmares: you don't control anything, and you can only watch, frozen, as the characters suffer and the story unfolds. Especially the actor for KAI, his performance portrayed KAI as some kind of chaotic free spirit, unpredictable but somehow not? I never knew what to expect from KAI but I also felt like whatever he would do was justified in some sordid insane way (and that was even before the main plot twist). don't know if I'm making any sense right now but let me tell you that KAI's character is the high point of the movie: he manages to be despicable, amazing, scary, vulnerable, somehow childlike, intriguing, sweet...

The ending is not something that I can truly say I liked because... I don't see how anyone would like this outcome but I was strangely at peace with it. It's probably necessary for a nightmare to end this kind of way.

Also the music is damn good: it fits the dreamlike vibe, in a nigthmareish kind of way of course.

Anyways you may think I'm crazy after reading this but the insanity that is this movie probably explains my current state.

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Possible spoilers

This movie is beautiful. Don't get me wrong, it is. But why in the world does it have only a 15+ content rating? Im 22 and when i watched it, it hit me from all different directions and i thought about it for a while after i finished it. Its upsetting but beautiful at the same time and it makes you cry basically. I really hated the ending, it left me in shock and i don't know if they really HAD to give us that ending, but maybe they thought it matches the theme of the movie. It does, but still.... I would give this a 18+ content rating tbh. It has some VERY mature scenes and themes. But overall it's worth to watch if you're sure you can handle something of this genre.

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What did I just watch?

Okay, I've seen my fair share of weird movies/series in my life and it takes a lot to get a strong reaction out of me, but this movie was just indescribable. I don't even know how to rate a movie like this.....

First of all I'd like to say that I do not consider this movie a BL, like I've said in other reviews the genre BL (my personal opinion) has a completely different tone than this. If you analyze all the popular series it's clear to see the similarities in them, some are romantic, some are funny, and of course some are tragic.....but I don't think it's right to label all movies/series as BL just for having a gay couple as their leads.

That's why I feel like this movie shouldn't be labeled as a BL, because it was not made within the "formula" that we all know and love, fuffly or twisty. Sing In Love is not for that audience. It is a very dark, raw, and shocking movie that talks about rape and violence in a very brutal way....how it destroys lives and burns everything to the ground.

After our main character Kiritani is raped he slowly starts to lose his sense of self. He goes from a married kindhearted middle school teacher to an empty shell of a man. We follow Kiritani on the way to his personal hell and it's gut wrenching to watch sometimes. There are also very disturbing scenes involving kids - which I felt it was there more for shock value than actually enriching the storyline.

I really don't know how to feel about it. I guess that might have been the purpose of it's writer...to make us finish the movie with a sensation of a bottomless pit in our stomachs.....to force us to think about a very dark side of life (which unfortunately happens all over the world). I'd say it's a movie made to seen as "artistic", but I'm also not comfortable with that description.

Another important character in this movie is Kai, the person that tells Kiritani he was the one that raped him. The one that led him to the gates of his personal hell. But yet again, we discover a series of threads that keep that just won't untangle. Each not got stuck in my throat.

I'll never see this movie again. It for sure made my life a little bit heavier, one drop of 96% alcohol at a time. I cant imagine how the actors got through this one....but they did a great job.

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What The F-ck, also ignore the last five minutes?

This is the most unhinged movie I have ever seen, nothing about it made sense for the first hour and still many of the interactions were weird. It felt like we were a bystander and you see 2 people that know each other talk about something between them, but for a whole movie. I dont really know how to rate this movie but I will just put some of my thoughts here.

A married school teacher gets raped by a guy in a pig mask. Three months later, he is still traumatized by the event and gets followed by 2 guys, one of them being a guy called Kai. The teacher thinks its the guys that raped him, and he gets followed and teased with more and more. Eventually, he loses his job and his wife, and his mental state is a wreck. He lives randomly just like everyone in the shit town.

SPOILERS

Turns out, the teacher was not raped by Kai, but by an older man who is the boss of the shit town. The connection and why he "protects and gives money" is confusing but whatever. It is nice that some of the questions the viewer has were answered, but it is still obvious that this movie is open to interpretation in many areas.

Kai probably kept an eye out for the teacher because Kai liked him since he was a child. He surveyed the teachers trauma responses and helped him face his trauma. Still, he ruined the life of the teacher, so it felt quite meaningless in my eyes. Kai acted mostly self-indulgent in my opinion. One thing i dont get is why did the big boss man decide to rape the teacher? I see the connection with the teacher and Kai but not the with the boss.

As for the ending, it was cool that the teacher ended up burning the boss man alive, and then made love with Kai. It was a fcked up story, but at least there is some sort of happy ending. Until the boss man (i think? his face was covered probably from the hospital but idk) kllled the teacher and he lies dead naked in the forest. Bruh. What even is this story. Kai manages to escape and god knows what he is thinking and plans to do with his life.

I dont know how to recommend this movie. Its somewhat of an interesting watch but super confusing and does not deserve a re watch in my opinion. Still, the acting was great and I recommend it if you like darker themes in general. Respectfully, I prefer soft and fluffy BLs (this one is not even a BL), and will be enjoying them instead.

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