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‘She Taught Me Serendipity’ Review: A Lonely Young Guy Learns Lessons in Love and Life in Appealing Romantic Drama
Akiko Ohku continues her winning films about the joy and pain of love with a carefully guided tale of fate and infatuation
Following her tales of young women seeking fulfillment and direction in life (“Tremble All You Want” and “Hold Me Back”, audience award winners at Tokyo in 2017 and 2020), Akiko Ohku’s first male-focused film is another winning mix of gentle humor and touching human drama that will speak to viewers everywhere. An awkward second-year student whose perpetually open umbrella serves as a security blanket and safety shield from the friendship groups he’s not part of, mop-topped Konishi (Riku Hagiwara) would be completely alone without his one-and-only buddy, Yamane (Kodai Kurosaki), a goofy guy whose eccentric fashion sense provides a constant source of amusement. Reuniting with regular cinematographer Natsuyo Nakamura and long-standing editor Hiroyuki Yoneda, Ohku has created a crisply packaged and deceptively deep gem that makes splendid use of pop tracks including “Hatsukoi Crazy” by Spitz, alongside Tai Matoyoshi’s subtle score.
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