Colors of Wind 風の色 (2017) - Japan
Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia)
Regrets, memories and love are major themes in the magical romantic melodrama about alter egos, mental illness and acceptance of the past. From the Director of “My Sassy Girl” Kwak Jae-Young crafted a film that plays with our suspension of belief as we follow the love story of the protagonist turned magician. In fact the film alludes to many classics, “Vertigo” “Leon The Professional” and “The Prestige” and often reminds us just how good those films were. Instead, we are left with a half baked attempt to depict a far fetched love story where the magic scenes remains the highlight and often overshadow the actual story.
Yuku Furukawa is likeable and his stubborn pursue of his love (played by the cute actress Takenu Fujii in her first leading role) is often treated as overindulgence. Fujii plays the duo role extremely convincingly as you can tell they are two very different people. The chemistry between the two is probably what holds the film together as we are given a lot of space to ponder, blending in well with the vast snow and lonely cityscape.
All in all, “Colors of Wind” is clearly filled with excessive overindulgence and often paced at a slow pace that leaves too much imagination of the audience. It may work if we actually believe in the situations that the characters are thrown into. Mental illness is a personal topic of mine and the film shows how it affects relationship and the importance of creating a space and time for self acceptance. For this, Director Kwak earns the mark, but as a whole, the film feels like a mixed bag at best.
I rated it 6.5/10