TWO TYPES OF films have dictated Japanese mainstream cinema in recent years. There are the ones featuring innocent teenagers struggling to overcome shyness so they can tell their true loves how they feel; and there are the ill-fated romances in which one half of a lovelorn couple - usually the woman - is stricken with a serious ailment. And then there's Midnight Sun. Combining elements from both genres to maximum tear-jerking effect, the film's success in Japan has left critics once again fuming (in vain) about the predictable melodrama that drives such weepy fare.
Midnight Sun is the story of 16-year-old Kaoru Amane, who suffers from xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), a rare genetic disorder that leaves the body unable to repair damage caused by the Sun's ultraviolet rays. Kaoru's case is acute, and prolonged exposure to the sun is life-threatening. She can venture outside only after sunset, hurrying home before it rises - or she can wear a heavy radiation suit, a clunky affair that causes the teenager much grief and embarrassment.
Such circumstances force her to lead a life that's the exact opposite of those around her - waking up at night, sleeping during the day, and eating breakfast as her parents have dinner. Whereas many Japanese cities impose a midnight curfew on anyone under 17, her illness gives her a licence to walk the streets freely at night and engage in the one passion of her life: playing guitar and singing on the street, as a result of which she crosses paths with a teenage surfer she regularly sees from her window.
Kaoru is played by popular singer-songwriter Yui in her first film role. The 19-year-old, whose real name is reportedly Yui Yoshioka, has already enjoyed great success with her music in Japan, after being singled out from among 20,000 performers at a Sony Music open tryout, where the judges unanimously gave her full scores at her audition. She has also won fans abroad, many of whom discovered her music when her songs were featured in the popular anime Bleach.
Since she contributed several songs to Midnight Sun, and also began her career performing on the streets of her home town of Fukuoka, it's easy to see Yui playing a version of herself in the film - and she agrees.
'For Kaoru, music is a very important and treasured part of her life, and in that way we are very similar,' Yui says. 'The first time I held a guitar was a very exciting moment for me,' she says, echoing a line from her character in the film.