This immediately reminded me of Miike's "HAPPINESS OF THE KATAKURIS" which was produced the year before. The self-conscious musical numbers and the occasional use of puppets could have come from Miike's film except for the fact that Koi Ni Utaeba isn't the work of a determined weirdo.
The story is a bit of froth that could have come from the U.S. TV show "Love, American Style", and that's not a good thing. The actors had to carry the production or it would have floated away with it's in-substantialness. The whole film is bright, colorful and cheery, a marked contrast from director Kaneko's kaiju films.
As with "Happiness of the Katakuris" it seems that a familiarity with Japanese television and film musicals would help the viewer to enjoy this film. Also a good translation. The English title for this is "When You Sing of Love".
Fans of Kaneko's other work should steer clear of this unless you have Doris Day films on the shelf next to the Gamera trilogy..
The story is a bit of froth that could have come from the U.S. TV show "Love, American Style", and that's not a good thing. The actors had to carry the production or it would have floated away with it's in-substantialness. The whole film is bright, colorful and cheery, a marked contrast from director Kaneko's kaiju films.
As with "Happiness of the Katakuris" it seems that a familiarity with Japanese television and film musicals would help the viewer to enjoy this film. Also a good translation. The English title for this is "When You Sing of Love".
Fans of Kaneko's other work should steer clear of this unless you have Doris Day films on the shelf next to the Gamera trilogy..