In Isao Yukisada¡¯s ¡°Kaede,¡± a photographer starts impersonating his recently deceased twin brother and living with the latter¡¯s partner to help ease her pain. Sure enough, he begins to develop feelings for the woman, who is apparently so blinded by grief that she doesn¡¯t realize she¡¯s shacked up with an impostor.
It sounds like the synopsis for a twisted psychodrama, but Yukisada has other ends in mind. ¡°Kaede,¡± showing in cinemas nationwide since last week, is a glossy, tearjerking romance with conscious echoes of the director¡¯s 2004 box-office smash, ¡°Crying Out Love in the Center of the World.¡± The most distinctive thing about it isn¡¯t the weirdly creepy premise, but the fact that it¡¯s based on a song.
Originally released in 1998 by rock band Spitz, ¡°Kaede¡± (¡°Maple¡±) is one of those ageless hits that still gets regularly wheeled out at school concerts and karaoke sessions. It¡¯s a slow-burner with a soaring chorus (¡°¡±) that¡¯s shamelessly emotive, even if you¡¯d be hard pressed to say exactly what it¡¯s about.
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