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James Mottram

4/5 stars
Love on Trial is an absorbing look at the Japanese music industry inspired by real events.
Unveiled in the Cannes Premiere sidebar of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Koji Fukada’s film has a universal quality. The story may centre around a J-pop girl group, but its exploration of the pressures put on young performers feels like it could also apply to Western groups.
The story is about Happy Fans, a quintet who are rapidly becoming popular with teens.


The movie starts with them busy signing autographs, offering handshakes and posing for selfies at a meet-and-greet. The young band members are hard-working, aware the team of adults around them depend on them to make a living.
The first issue comes when one of the bandmates has her social media account hacked and images leaked. The group’s agency immediately isolates her from the others.
It gets worse when the sweet, innocent Mai (Kyoko Saito) is found to be in a relationship; there is a “no love” clause in all their contracts, meaning they cannot engage with members of the opposite sex.
This is meant to keep the band’s relationship with the fans pure, but is also extraordinarily hard on the girls.

As the title suggests, the film morphs from a coming-of-age drama to a courtroom saga, with Mai’s management taking her and boyfriend Kei (Yuki Kura, Shogun) to court, suing them for a loss of earnings to the tune of eight million yen (US$56,000).
Needless to say, the strain on these two youngsters becomes unbearable.
Set in a world where fandom can become extreme – at one point, a hoodie-wearing devotee takes things far too far – the film deals not only with issues of idolatry and obsession but of hypocrisy in the entertainment industry.
How is it that young girls can be stripped of their basic human rights and turned into commodities by this male-dominated industry?
Smartly directed by Fukada (Love Life), this film feels original. While most movies set in the music world concentrate on fame and the rise and fall of talent, this explores the disparity in gender roles.

Led by Saito, who gives a cast-iron turn as Mai, the film vividly recreates the garish, bubblegum feel of J-pop.
In a world where creativity is committee-driven and micromanaged to the nth degree, Fukada captures something of the sinister corporate culture behind the contemporary music industry.
Better yet, he carves out a human story about the precious and precarious nature of young love.
Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook


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Kyoko Saito as J-pop star Mai in a still from Love on Trial (category TBC), directed by Koji Fukada. Yuki Kura co-stars.

Fictional J-pop girl group Happy Fans perform in a still from Love on Trial.

Yuki Kura (left) as Kei and Kyoko Saito as Mai in a still from Love on Trial.

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A still from It Was Just an Accident, a dark comedy by Iranian director Jafar Panahi starring ahid Mobasseri, Ebrahim Azizi, Mariam Afshari and Hadis Pakbaten. Photo: Handout

Director Jafar Panahi and cast members Majid Panahi, Ebrahim Azizi, Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, pose on the red carpet at the 78th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France. Photo: Reuters

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Yamato Kochi as “The Walking Man” in a still from Exit 8.

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Takeshi Kaneshiro and Kyoko Fukada in a still from the drama series “God, Please Give Me More Time” (1998).

(From left) Xu Jinglei, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau, Jet Li, Jacky Heung and director Peter Chan promote “The Warlords” at an event in December 2007. Photo: SCMP

Takeshi Kaneshiro in a still from “Perhaps Love” (2005).

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Takeshi Kaneshiro in an interview with the Post in December 2006. Photo: SCMP

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Kyoko Saito plays a J-pop star sued for having a boyfriend in a film that questions how young women are treated by a male-dominated industry


Kyoko Saito plays a J-pop star sued for having a boyfriend in a film that questions how young women are treated by a male-dominated industry.


Asian cinema

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K-pop, Mandopop and other Asian pop

An assessment or critique of a service, product or creative endeavour.  Film reviews, restaurant reviews, reviews of art exhibitions. (Eg. Crazy Rich Asians: an important film, yes, but a good one?)


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.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Kyoko Saito plays a J-pop star sued for having a boyfriend in a film that questions how young women are treated by a male-dominated industry

Kyoko Saito plays a J-pop star sued for having a boyfriend in a film that questions how young women are treated by a male-dominated industry