“It’s a Summer Film!” - Film Review @ JFF PGH
There’s a youthful exuberance that runs through It’s a Summer Film!. Taking place over the roughly three months leading to the school’s film festival, the movie focuses on a trio of best friends: Barefoot (Marika Ito), Kickboard (Yumi Kawai), and Blue Hawaii (Kirara Inori). While the three of them have varying interests, they have the type of inseparable bond that can only exist in high school.
Barefoot lives and breathes Samurai films. She has posters of classic movies all over her walls, spends her afternoon rewatching older films, and writing her own take on a samurai flick. Her updated version will be teen samurais if she can ever find the proper ending. Part of her struggles with finding an ending comes from her disappointment in her samurai film not being chosen for the film club’s project. Instead, Barefoot’s rival Karen’s (Mahiru Koda) film is selected. Karen’s movie is a run of the mill romantic comedy, a genre that Barefoot has little respect for.
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At a Samurai Film Festival in her town, Barefoot catches sight of Rintaro (Daichi Kaneko), another member of the audience. It’s like a lightning bolt moment, Barefoot has found her lead in her samurai movie. She collects her friends and some fellow outcasts at school to make her film and plans to screen it at the same festival as Karen’s movie.
Just when the audience thinks they have the plot figured out, a science fiction element comes into play that upends everything. Without giving away the twists, It’s a Summer Film! is a blend of genres done so naturally that it doesn’t feel disjointed. It’s the sort of classic Spielbegerian group of ragtag friends that come together to make something meaningful. It’s breezy and so easy to enjoy. Just like summertime.
At its core, It’s a Summer Film! is a sneaky romantic comedy about detesting romantic comedies. It’s a samurai movie by way of science fiction. A movie about the ineffable experience of moviemaking both as the film crew and as the audience who gets to enjoy it. How this labor of love is life-changing for the artists and the fans. It’s a movie for movie lovers. As Barefoot finally decides on an ending for her movie, it’s hard not to feel a part of the moment. The music swells and the final scene is a triumph for the creative spirit.
The Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival is happening now at Row House Cinema from March 18–31.
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