“I just wanted to be an ordinary girl”

The rather successful debut of Taiwanese musician Jay Chou in 2007, “Secret”, sent ripples to the film industry of the whole of Asia, with a Korean remake coming up in 2021, and this year, a Japanese one titled “Secret: A Hidden Score”. This review will deal with the latter. 

Minato was studying music in the US, but he came back to Japan after experiencing trauma and is currently studying piano at a prestigious music academy. One day, he hears a beautiful song played on the piano and becomes fascinated by the music. The song leads him to meet Yukino, who is the source of the music. Minato falls head over hills for the beautiful, cheerful, intriguing but also secretive and mysterious girl, and the two soon start hanging out as much as they can. Or better, as much as Yukino will allow, to the disgruntlement of another girl, Hikari, who also has feelings for Minato. Yukino helps Minato regain his will to be a musician, but one day, she suddenly disappears. 

There is a pattern to the Japanese films we usually catch in European/Western film festivals, which makes “Secret: A Hidden Score” a kind of a novelty, since this is the type of film that is quite popular in Japan, but does not get out of the borders so frequently. Whether this is a good thing, however, is a whole other topic. 

Hayato Kawai comes up with a very sensitive film about life in college, romance, and the concept of trauma and how people can heal. What is the most intriguing aspect of the whole narrative, however, is the relationship in the center of the movie, and particularly its imbalance. Minato falls for Yukino immediately, and while she also obviously likes him, she is holding back due to her secrets, in an aspect that makes the relationship, and subsequently, the whole film quite intriguing. 

At the same time, this aspect, and again the whole movie, benefits the most by the charisma, the performance and the chemistry of the two main actors. Kotone Furukawa as Yukino in particular is a joy to watch throughout the movie, with the way her teasing and secretive nature eventually changes to a more open up one, and the way her whole story leads to drama being probably the best aspect of the whole film. Taiga Kyomoto as the nerdy, traumatized, hopelessly in love Minato is also quite good, with the interactions of the two being quite pleasant to watch. Gorgeous Mayuu Yokota as Hikari cements the prowess in the acting, while Ryota Miura and Ryotaro Sakaguchi as Minato and Hikari’s friends provide a very appealing humoristic element to the movie, even if they are too loud on occasion. 

Furthermore, the twist is also good, even if not that surprising, with the last part that explains more about what happened being particularly well directed. That it explains more of the character’s actions and demeanor while creating additional empathy for them works quite well for the movie too. In that regard, the placement of the flashbacks, the revelations and the aftermath are well embedded in the story, in a trait that should also be attributed to the editing, which is definitely on a high level here. 

At the same time, a number of issues all Japanese films seem to face nowadays are found in “Secret: A Hidden Score” also. The intense lagging, particularly in the last part of the movie, the scenes that seem almost unnecessary and an effort at forced sentimentalism are all here in abundance, bringing the quality of the whole thing several levels down. The extensive use of music is also an issue, although this is justified due to the nature of the story. Lastly, the story, and particularly the twist have not aged well since the original, with the whole thing appearing preterit on occasion. 

In the end, “Secret: A Hidden Score” is a mixed bag of a film that draws the viewer in with the charisma and beauty of its protagonists and a story that seems intriguing in the beginning, only to disappoint in the end. Probably fans of romantic TV dramas will be the ones that will enjoy the film.