In a small town in Japan, Takuya is shy young boy clearly unfascinated with the sports that his parents have placed him in. He barely moves in hockey and looks to the sky hoping for snow during baseball season. Then, one day, as he is stuck in the draining motions of Ice Hockey, he sees a new sport on the ice: figure skating! Despite being surrounded by normal skaters, Takuya sees the beauty of what Sakura does in her dancing. She is being taught by Arakawa, a former professional ice dancer who has taken on a more modest life where he makes his living with lessons for Sakura and as a caretaker for the rink. During these free skates, Takuya stops simply watching Sakura but trying to imitate her. Arakawa notices this and begins to help Takuya create the beauty he witnesses with his own dancing.
In this manner, My Sunshine may be likened to other sports biopics where the goal is perfection with training but this film takes a much more humble approach. Here, the goal is not a championship but connection. For Arakawa and Takuya, both are outsiders in their social lives and figure skating gives them a place in life to connect and find joy in the beauty of sport.
A subtle film, Sunshine allows you to live with these characters and their environment. It’s able to communicate a precise place and moment in life. This film is simple and uses that to its advantage, making the simple choices of these characters have profound impact. Director Hiroshi Okuyama uses a nice choice of styler to reflect the modest scope of the film but still bringing beauty. Calling the film My Sunshine serves a dual purpose, both for the way the characters help each other and the way that the large windows in the skating rink lets in natural light. In doing so, Okuyama creates beauty in the final scenes, as he also manages to carry contrasting feelings. You are forced to think about how, as people seek beauty, they also disclude and become hateful of what they do not deem beautiful.
My Sunshine is playing at TIFF ’24. For more information, click here.
