Blue is an engaging boxing drama that deals with loss and lack.

 

Today's blog post focuses on a movie that I truly believe is underappreciated. Although, I also know that there might be good reason as to why that is. Written and directed by Keisuke Yoshida, today's blog post is all about the boxing movie, Blue! 

Blue follows the stories of a trio of boxers that train at the same gym. Nobuto Urita has tremendous passion for the sport, but just can't seem to get a single win. He's on quite the losing streak when we first are introduced to him. Urita's friend, Kazuki Ogawa, is on the other hand, quite the gifted boxer and his skills have taken him to the Japan national championship. Unfortunately for the talented pugilist, he has become prone to forgetfulness, forgetting his girlfriend's birthday amongst other things, and his focus on winning the championship have put a strain on his relationship with the beautiful, Chika Amano. Chika Amano is deeply worried for Ogawa's health, especially the damage that he might have sustained to his brain. The last main character, Tsuyoshi Narasaki, is a rather timid guy that just wants to impress his co-worker whom he is romantically interested in. After an incident with a middle schooler results in Narasaki being beaten up, Tae mistakenly believes that Narasaki didn't fight back due to him being a boxer. Naturally, Narasaki goes along with it and eventually ends up actually becoming a boxer in order to impress her. 

Blue is not the happiest of movies that you will see. It does have some rather solid character arcs and subtle narrative beats though. Nobuto Urita's arc is quite something. We see his struggles with the sport as he just can't get a win no matter how hard he tries. Despite this, he hardly ever stops smiling and joking. He makes self deprecating jokes to Chika just after having lost a bout. His passion for the sport outweighs his perceived lack of ability, boxing clearly means a lot to the guy. We also see how adept he is as a trainer as he swiftly turns Narasaki into a competent boxer and even coaches Ogawa to the championship. Coaching would be a good career path for him if he really wanted to stay in the sport without getting into the ring. 

Kazuki Ogawa promises Chika that he will retire if he loses. It was a spur of the moment thing in the middle of an argument over his health and well-being. His arc sees him being coached by his good friend Urita through numerous fights, whilst his forgetfulness gradually gets worse which may be due to cerebral decay. His perseverance can be seen as admirable, but also is foolish when it comes to the damage he's sustaining. Personally, Ogawa came across as less likable than the other two leads even when I was trying not to let my personal feelings about the actor portraying the role cloud my judgement. 

Narasaki goes from the timid, pitiable fellow to a fundamentally solid professional boxer. His arc sees him grow from just wanting to impress Tae, to actually getting into the sport and making something of himself. He didn't need Tae's attention in order to become a confident guy with good self esteem, he just needed to belief in himself and work hard on improving. His story is a joy to watch unfold.

What I really love about Blue is the subtle things. The narrative has some small lines of dialogue that actually tell a lot about the story. For example, we learn that Urita's passion for boxing came from Chika suggesting that he do it. This line of dialogue is beautiful as it showcases just how close the pair of Urita and Chika are and how they've been friends since childhood. It also hints at romance between the two as it infers that Urita had feelings for the attractive girl. I love subtlety in storytelling and this was so much better than having a ton of exposition being dumped onto the viewers. 

Keisuke Yoshida is proving to be a competent director. One of my favourite things about him is the fact that he not only directs, but also writes the scripts of a lot of his projects. For Blue, he did both and the results speak for themselves. His direction brought the most out of a talented cast. The tight script also helped tremendously as it was drama heavy. 

Yoshida's partnership with cinematographer, Takayuki Shida is wonderful to watch. The cinematography is a superb blend of static and dynamic shots with some shakiness thrown in. The shaky framing works best for the actual boxing sequences as well as in the poignant headache scene in which we see just how bad Ogawa's head is getting. 

The boxing sequences themselves are competent with the weakest being the very first one we see. The camera work really sells the punches and gives the sequences a tension as well that keeps the viewer hooked. 

Performance wise, Kenichi Matsuyama brings a certain charm and charisma to the role of Nobuto Urita. He really seems passionate about boxing and his jovial nature despite the constant losses makes him very likable. Matsuyama-san also brilliantly handles the subtle emotions when necessary and is actually decent in the boxing sequences. 

Fumino Kimura is excellent as always in the role of Chika Amano. She's a welcome addition to the cast and her performance showcases Kimura-san's adeptness at portraying a charming, strong feminine figure with gusto. She's brilliant in the emotional scenes. 

Tokio Emoto is fantastic in the role of Tsuyoshi Narasaki. The role suited Emoto-san really well and he was believable as the timid, non-confrontational Narasaki. 

Now to address the elephant in the room. Masahiro Higashide did a fantastic job in the role of Kazuki Ogawa. There's no doubt that Higashide is a talented actor and excels in drama-filled roles. The problem I have with him is the fact that he's a terrible human being and husband. He cheated on his ex-wife, actress Anne Watanabe, when she was pregnant with their third child. That behaviour is inexcusable in my humble opinion. I just hope that he actually is there for his kids. 

Overall, Blue is a very enjoyable boxing drama and I would definitely recommend it to fans of boxing movies. I'd also state that you might find it a good watch even if you're not a boxing fan as there's a strong emphasis on drama as opposed to the actual fights. The fights actually take a backseat to the drama with the results serving to push the narrative forward.