My Teacher;
or, The First Love
Every hour
of lost time now is a chance for future regret.
As soon as
I saw the poster and trailer for Sensei!... Am I allowed to love you?, I knew that I had to check it out. I
was expecting it be a rehash of Great Teacher Onizuka format, but I was
pleasantly surprised. My Teacher is a little sweet film about innocent affection
that should never have happened between a student and her teacher.
Release Info
Release Info
Directed by: Takahiro Miki Starring: Toma Ikuta, Suzu Hirose, Aoi Morikawa, Ryo Ryusei
Language: Japanese Original Title: 先生!、、、好きになってもいいですか? Runtime: 112 min
Hibiki Shimada (Suzu Hirose) is an ordinary, 17-year-old,
high school student. She has never been in a romantic relationship, but she
spends time with her two best friends: Chigusa (Aoi Morikawa) and Kosuke (Ryo
Ryusei) who are busy chasing after teachers they fell in love with. Touched by
his acts of kindness, Shimada also develops such feelings for her history
teacher, Mr Ito (Toma Ikuta). He takes her to a hospital, gives her a ride home a couple of
times, and even helps in solving after-class assignments. However, Mr Ito
perceives such tasks to be part of his job, nothing beyond that. Shimada
eventually confesses her feelings to Ito, but he tells her that cannot
reciprocate. As a result, she makes a deal with him: if she scores over 90
points in the test, he will allow her to love him. Discouraged along the way,
Shimada does not give up in cultivating her feelings to Mr Ito.
Love Knows No Limits
I was afraid I won’t, but I really did enjoy My Teacher. I
was worried that halfway through the picture (after the big scene revealed in
the trailer) the story will turn into a preachy drama about how some
relationships are forbidden, but nothing like that happened. The movie was
evenly paced and had this peaceful, believable aura which made events unfolding
on the screen seem plausible in real life. Even though there was a part of me
knowing that something like this would never happened, I found myself cheering
for Hibiki’s quest to win the unwinnable heart.
The rooftop scene is the most recognisable hallmark of the
picture, but I have also enjoyed the subtle moments in Mr Ito’s office as well
as the interactions between Shimada and Chigusa. Even the scenes with Fujioka (Kentaro
Matsuo) did not seem forced at all. The school setting feels very much like
another character in the film. Thankfully, the “outrage” component in the story
is significantly toned down, because it is not the main focus of the picture.
With regard to performances, everyone is praising Toma
Ikuta’s performance as Mr Ito. I thought it was convincing and okay,
considering the fact that most of the time he plays a grumpy teacher who’s
slacking during work hours. In my opinion, Suzu Hirose really carried the
picture with her performance as a naive (yet decent and honest) student. The
supporting actors did great jobs, especially Aoi Morikawa and Ryo Ryusei as
Hibiki’s close friends. The only odd-actress out seemed Manami Higa as Ms.
Nakajima. I have nothing against her, but she did not seem to fit the role of a
teacher who is standing in-between of Ito and Shimada.
Recommendations
Go ahead and check it out if you are into Japanese school
stories (or if you have your own secret teacher crush). Some manga enthusiasts
may be interested in the fact that the movie is actually based on Sensei! comic book series by Kazune Kawahara. In my personal opinion, it’s best to watch the film at
the beginning of a school year, as it has this inextricable Autumn-feel. All
things considered, My Teacher is a very subtle romantic movie which leaves you
wanting for more.
Overall score: 8/10
I would like to praise the soundtrack. It was really good and helped to connect with the scenes.
ReplyDeleteFor me the climax was how Kosuke made his teacher to accept his true self.
Good review, by the way. Thank you
Thank you very much for the comment. I'm happy that you liked the film and the soundtrack.
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