Nodame Cantabile: The Movie

Hideki Takeuchi

The story: Orchestral conductor Chiaki (Hiroshi Tamaki) and aspiring pianist Nodame (Juri Ueno) are pursuing their musical dreams in Europe. He needs to prove himself with an upcoming concert while she wants nothing more than to perform on the same stage as him.

First the manga, then the TV adaptation and next, the big- screen wrap-up.

Nodame Cantabile follows a well-trodden path that romantic comedy Boys Over Flowers (2008) and school drama Gokusen (2009) have recently taken in Japan.

One of the things these films have to decide is whether they want to broaden the audience base beyond those who were fans of the small-screen offerings.

The answer here is a clear no. There is no sense of history of Nodame and Chiaki’s relationship or how they got to Europe.

You would have to already be a fan to know that they met at a music college in Japan, fell in love and then moved to Paris for him to start a career as a professional conductor while she continued her piano studies at a conservatory.

What is even more discordant is the introduction of supporting characters from the TV series in the final spool, which feels like a shout-out to pander to fans.

There is also a problem here with the wildly varying tone.

The introductions to well-known pieces such as Ravel’s Bolero and Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture and the explanation detailing the difference between the French and German bassoons give off a Classical Music 101 vibe.

The rest of the time, the film feels like a live-action cartoon.

When characters blush, their cheeks turn a fervent shade of pink and Nodame has elaborate fantasy sequences featuring animated dancing teddy bears.

Sometimes, this over-the-top approach works, as in a scene of her cooking a pot of dubious and lethal curry. For the most part, it feels overdone and Nodame comes across like an idiot savant rather than an endearingly eccentric pianist.

Death-metal comedy Detroit Metal City (2008) proved that it was possible to maintain manga’s outlandish tone and yet have characters who feel real and believable, but Cantabile is unable to strike that balance.

In addition, the story here is weak. Faced with a ragtag patchwork orchestra filled with wacky one-note characters, will Chiaki be able to transform the ensemble into a musical force to be reckoned with? Oh, the suspense.

Since there is not much drama there, there is instead a last-minute rift between Nodame and Chiaki leading to an abrupt ending that sets one up for Part Two of the big-screen conclusion.

But by that point, one is too dissociated from the dissonant offering to care.

(ST)