What occurs when a pop star falls in love? In Japan’s cutthroat idol {industry} — she will get sued. That surprising actuality types the spine of “Love on Trial,” Japanese director Koji Fukada‘s Cannes-bound drama that rips the veil off the draconian “no-dating” clauses that preserve J-Pop’s brightest stars legally barred from romance.
The challenge marks Fukada’s fourth collaboration with MK2 Movies and his first with Japanese large Toho, who’ve unveiled the movie’s first clip completely with Selection.
The movie, debuting on the Cannes Film Festival‘s Cannes Premiere strand, follows Mai, a rising idol whose profession implodes when her forbidden relationship is found, triggering a court docket battle that exposes the {industry}’s iron grip on younger feminine performers’ private lives.
“The place to begin was a small article I got here throughout on the web round 2015,” Fukada tells Selection. “It advised the story of a feminine idol who was sued for damages by her company after having a romantic relationship with a fan. I used to be significantly shocked to be taught that the contract between the idol and the company included a clause prohibiting romantic relationships with the other intercourse.”
What started as industry-specific commentary advanced into an exploration of broader societal points. “By exploring this topic, I might delve into extra common points, comparable to gender and free will, that lie beneath the floor,” the filmmaker explains.
To create an genuine portrayal of the idol {industry}, Fukada and co-writer Shintaro Mitani, who actively writes for a present idol group, carried out intensive analysis. “Throughout that point, I carried out quite a few interviews with precise idols and producers who handle idol teams,” stated Fukada, including that they studied court docket information and consulted attorneys to assemble the movie’s authorized scenes.
Whereas the movie takes intention at problematic {industry} practices, Fukada was cautious to keep away from sensationalism. “This movie intentionally avoids portraying essentially the most dramatic and scandalous moments of her social downfall in actual time,” he says. “Doing so would threat replicating the old school media practices of sensationalizing celeb scandals for leisure.”
As an alternative, he centered on “the lingering, boring ache Mai experiences after dropping her standing, her subsequent transformation, and the numerous selections she makes afterward.”
For Fukada, the idol {industry} represents deeper societal points inside Japan. “The idol {industry} is usually criticized for tendency to demand immaturity and extreme purity from younger girls, idolizing them whereas denying them ample autonomy and tolerating no deviation,” he observes. “I consider this attribute is deeply rooted in Japanese society, which constantly ranks beneath one centesimal within the Gender Hole Index and is by far the bottom amongst G7 international locations.”
Koji Fukada
Although “Love on Trial” could seem extra overtly political than a few of Fukada’s earlier works like “Harmonium” or “Love Life,” the director sees this as “a pure consequence of the subject material.” He notes that the idea started through the modifying of “Harmonium” and was developed alongside different tasks, with earlier works like “Hospitalité” and “Sayonara” additionally addressing social points together with immigration and refugees.
For the casting, Fukada took the bizarre step in Japanese cinema of holding auditions for nearly each function. “We had been in a position to forged precise idols to play idol roles, which allowed us to seize the authenticity of their performances as people dwelling on the planet of present enterprise,” he says. “The younger idols are delivering beautiful performances on display screen that solely they’ll obtain. Specifically, I hope audiences will really feel the presence of prime Japanese idol Kyoko Saito all through the two-hour movie.”
Regardless of the movie’s particular cultural context, Fukada believes its themes will resonate globally. “Whereas ‘Love on Trial’ is about within the uniquely Japanese world of idols, its themes – comparable to gender disparity, oppression, the conflicts of the leisure {industry}, and the struggles for independence – are common.”
With the Cannes premiere approaching, Fukada expresses his hope that the movie “reaches as many viewers as attainable” and that worldwide audiences will discover “their very own views and societies mirrored again at them, as if holding up a mirror.”
Watch the clip right here:
