Starring: Aoi Miyazaki, Hiroshi Tamaki, Munetaka Aoki, Keisuke Koide, Meisa Kuroki, Asae Oonishi, Misa Uehara
Directed by: Takehiko Shinjo
Scheduled release: Now showing

In Heavenly Forest, Aoi Miyazaki (probably best known internationally as the softer and more cuddly of the two NANAs in the 2005 monster hit – although notably absent from its 2006 sequel) plays Shizuru, an immature social misfit, struggling to fit in at her new university. She crosses paths with Makoto (played by Hiroshi Tamaki from Waterboys), an equally awkward young man, and is instantly smitten. Makoto has a passion for photography, and Shizuru decides to embrace this pastime as an excuse to get close to him. When she does so, she displays a natural talent that exceeds even Makoto’s artistic ability.

Soon, however, Shizuru realises that her efforts have been in vain – Makoto is besotted by fellow classmate Miyuki (Meisa Kuroki). She is beautiful, intelligent and painfully sweet, so Shizuru decides to become her friend too, in order to stay close to Makoto. And so the love triangle is set up, with neither couple able to fully explore their relationship for fear of hurting the other, and for three long years they struggle to keep each other happy until graduation, when they all go their separate ways.

Shizuru always jokes with Makoto that despite being a late bloomer, she will one day blossom into a true beauty, and he will regret not taking the chance to be with her when she offered it. In the final act that is painfully realized when Makoto follows Shizuru to New York, where her photography exhibition is having its premiere, only to discover he has indeed missed his chance.

Those familiar with the genre will know that these stories rarely end well for their tragic heroines. More often than not some mysterious illness snatches them away from their beloved before their relationship can be consummated. Mostly the heroine is artistically prolific – be it in painting, music or photography – and leaves a rich body of highly symbolic work, through which her spirit can live on forever.

But why do Japanese dramas insist on killing off these cute young women and widowing their male leads time and time again? Is it some bizarre rite of passage to instil young men with an emotional depth they will need for later life? Are these stories punishing young girls for exploring their creative talents? Or do they try to prepare their audience for the bereavement that will doubtless affect them in later life? Either that or the films could be presenting their women as geishas for a new generation – beautiful, talented, yet elusive women to be admired and adored for an intense, yet fleeting, moment before they are whisked away and the men are returned to reality.

Perhaps it is nothing so sinister or contrived. The message could simply be that love and life are ephemeral and one should make the most of the beautiful things in life while they are right in front of you. The truth is far from clear.

The facts, however, speak for themselves. The young elite of the Japanese film and music industries jostle year after year to star in these hugely lucrative projects, most of which are based on novels or manga that were themselves very successful. They are well produced and, taken individually, are fairly entertaining, with Heavenly Forest being no exception. The film is touching, funny and may even provoke a tear or two, but it is so unoriginal and determined to inflict wilful tragedy on its characters that it left this reviewer more bemused than bereaved.

James Marsh