Japan Cuts XVII Review: CHA-CHA is an Endearingly Twisted Love Story
3 min. read Cha-Cha (Ito Marika) is an illustrator who lives freely and without minding the gossip around her workplace. While on her office building’s smoking deck, she meets the aloof Raku (Nakagawa Taishi), a chef who works at the restaurant on the building’s ground level. Interested in his mysterious and quiet nature, Cha-Cha pursues a relationship with Raku, eventually settling into cohabitation. As the quirky Cha-Cha begins to fall more in love with Raku, she discovers a surprising side to him that will challenge her relationship to him in ways she never expected. Director Sakai Mai helms this fourth entry in the (not) HEROINE film series, a film project dedicated to female-centric stories with up-and-coming actors and directors. With only a handful of features under her belt, and some fairly popular writing credits of television, Sakai is poised to “break out” with this impressive not-quite romantic comedy anchored by […]
