Taiyô no uta (2006)

Kaoru dreamily gazes from her bedroom window each morning just before dawn. She can see a stretch of the beach in front of her parent's house on a hill in Kamakura, but focuses upon the ... See full summary »

Director:

Norihiro Koizumi

Writer:

Kenji Bando

Stars:

Yui, Takashi Tsukamoto, Kuniko Asagi

1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Yui	...	Kaoru Amane
Takashi Tsukamoto	...	Koji Fujishiro
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kuniko Asagi	...	Yuki Amane
Eri Fuse
Gaku Hamada
Kintarô Hara
Jun Kaname	...	Kudou Youhei
Gorô Kishitani	...	Ken Amane
Ken Koba
Takashi Kobayashi
Magy
Sôgen Tanaka	...	Haruo Kato
Airi Tôriyama	...	Misaki Matsumae
Tomohito Wakizaki
Hajime Yamazaki

Storyline

Kaoru dreamily gazes from her bedroom window each morning just before dawn. She can see a stretch of the beach in front of her parent's house on a hill in Kamakura, but focuses upon the activity at the bus stop where Koji and his two best friends meet before going surfing. The appearance of the sun causes her to lowers the blinds and go to sleep for she suffers from Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP) and exposure to the sun's rays has had the potential to kill her. At night she walks to the train station, plays her guitar and sings songs she has written, commonly returning home just a few minutes before it starts getting light. One morning she is at the bus stop singing when Koji arrives. Liking the song she was singing, he promises to go and listen to her perform as a street musician the first day of summer vacation but finds a loud and off-key man has occupied her spot. Koji improvises and takes her to Yokahama on his motor bike where her singing immediately draws a crowd. Koji marvels at ...

---

Plot Keywords:

teenage protagonist | teenage love | singing | genetic disorder | falling in love | 

---

Genres:

Drama | Music | Romance

---

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

17 June 2006 (Japan)

Also Known As:

A Song to the Sun

Company Credits

Production Co:

Geneon Entertainment, Nippon Shuppan Hanbai (Nippan) K.K., Robot Communications

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

DTS (DVD version) DTS-Stereo Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Remade as Midnight Sun (2018)

User Reviews

Beautifully shot drama

Overall I thought that the cinematography stole the show. The story is very moving if you allow yourself to get drawn into it; though I should say I watched it in two sittings and I imagine many will find it too much of a drag to watch all at once.

I thought that the father's part made it quite interesting and elevated is above TV movie status. There is a nice balance between the older/younger perspectives which gives the film some much needed depth. Sometimes this was rather laboured (the beach scene near the end) and sometimes it worked perfectly (when he was talking with the doctor).

I'm not sure what the target audience is, it seems to be a vehicle for YUI but the incidental music is a lot better than her songs!