Kate

And when two matching pieces meet, the audience dies. For dance you need the restraint of passion. Sugiki Shinya had restraint and control, Suzuki Shinya had passion and expression, together they completed each other.

Why did my 30+ years old self felt like a teenage girl when I was watching it? All these proper and perfectly delivered romance themes just melted my brain. The tension, the chemistry, the perfect pacing - what more could I ask for (maybe better editing for the opening and ending, but that’s later to complain about)? They gave me all and more.

First of all, I went into the movie with an idea of who the characters are and the movie slowly destroyed my misconception. What I thought I was getting is the free-spirited man slowly breaking the walls of the stoic and restrained one. Boy I was wrong. Who was breaking whom, when and why and to what extent is a whole big part of the storytelling that held my mind captive for two hours. The one broken by the end was me.

The dynamic between the leads was just enticing. The question of who was in control - be it of the external factors, the other person, or their own feelings. The tension was tensioning so hard I might have pulled a muscle or two. Suzuki Shinya was the unrestrained seduction that set the screen on fire, while Sugiki Shinya was the domineering force that grabbed all the attention.

With the limited screentime it’s an amazing romance with interesting internal dilemmas. I was so entertained and fascinated by Sugiki Shinya’s character that I could write a psychoanalysis of him. There was so much more depth in both lead characters - I went into it for well delivered cliches, but was surprised by some twists and turns on that insanely captivating journey.

For the acting - damn. For everyone who is traumatized by closing elevators after Cherry Magic!, fear not - we for sure do not face the same issue here. They both committed. Putting the romance aside, the thing that I appreciate the most was the depiction of hesitation and fear. In the context of the movie it had to be obvious for the audience, but clear to be something they wanted to hide and they both performed it perfectly.

I cannot speak on the actual dancing, because I know less about it than the actors themselves. All I can say is - I enjoyed watching the dancing scenes and for a clueless person like me, they were beautifully shot and delivered. For the music though - I wish they went less “cliche” with their choices. I am sorry, but River Flows in You should be banned from being used in any cinematic project till the end of the universe - it has Twilight copywritten in the brains of millions.

Visually speaking - they knew exactly what they were doing. This movie for sure does not give cheap vibes, even if they use “cheap” moves - I do appreciate the abs on the forefront with hips not lying. Somehow they still made it feel expensive and tasteful. Maybe because they truly did take their time to build that tension and they were not rushing any scenes.

For the complaints I think my biggest issues were the editing for the opening and ending scene - the clear cut to the title screen just punched me in the face for no reason. The hard cut did not really fit the pace of the overall story. And as I already mentioned - the music. Could have gone a little bit more creative.

Overall, I feel blessed. That was the holy experience I needed before Christmas. We truly do not get movies and dramas that are so unapologetically focused on the romance, tension and connection between the characters.