Japanese sci-fi romance ‘Until I Meet September’s Love’ is sweet but uninspiring [Movie Review]
Visually stunning, but a slow pace typical of J-dramas. Until I Meet September’s Love is a sweet, slow-moving Japanese sci-fi romance in which two people communicate with each other across time.
Moving homes is hassle enough without having the disembodied voice of a man in your new flat tell you he’s from the future and that you have to stalk your neighbour, i.e. him from the past, for two weeks. That’s precisely what happens to Shiori Kitamura (Haruna Kawaguchi), who has moved to the suburbs of Tokyo.
It takes some suspension of the viewers’ disbelief to accept that, just because the voice of Susumu Hirano (Issey Takahashi) tells her she’s in danger, Shiori does what he asks. Kawaguchi plays Shiori as best as she can, given that the character is relatively one-note. There is little backstory for Susumu, either.
Visually, Until I Meet September’s Love is stunning. The effects used to indicate something supernatural is happening are subtle but effective. Japan is shown in its best light, with long, ranging shots of Tokyo in bright, vivid colours. The music, too, works – it’s cheerful and boppy in happier moments, and slow and measured in more poignant scenes.
On the whole, however, the film just didn’t particularly move us. If you’re a fan of slow-paced J-dramas that emphasise the importance of living in the moment, then you might like Until I Meet September’s Love. For anyone else, though, we’d give this one a pass.