Matcha & Vanilla (2021) [บรรยายไทย]

here are many ups and downs when it comes to love. To experience such a deep connection with another person is something that many aspire to have, it makes all those difficult aspects of navigating relationships worth it. However, for queer people, things can be made even more complicated due to outside prejudices. In many areas of the world, LGBT couples don’t have the same rights as heterosexual couples and many must keep their love a secret.

Matcha & Vanilla (2021) is a film about the challenges of being in a secret, lesbian relationship in conservative Japan. When Yuki (Tomoko Hayakawa), a lesbian woman living in Japan, is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, she must find a way to spend her last few months of life, whilst navigating her secret relationship with her girlfriend Ai (Qyoko Kudo). The film is Directed by Japan-based, Australian filmmaker Hamish Downie and is the second of Downie’s films to star Kudo and Hayakawa as a lesbian couple. Snippets of his first film Silence (2016) are even used throughout this film.





 

With creative cinematography and some stunning imagery, Matcha & Vanilla is a visual treat, but more impressive than that, is the emotional journey it takes you on. The film excels in finding the perfect balance between the positive and negative moments in Yuki and Ai’s relationship. From the very first scene, we’re introduced to this, as Yuki and Ai share a matcha and vanilla cake. They talk about how it’s both bitter and sweet, a perfect summary of their relationship and the film itself. Throughout Matcha & Vanilla we are treated to these moments of happiness and love, contrasted with scenes of misery and pain. This film could have easily been a tragedy from start to finish but instead, we get enough light-hearted moments to prevent us from just switching off to cry into our pillows.

However, the star (or rather stars) of this film though are undoubtably the two lead actresses. Both Qyoko Kudo and Tomoko Hayakawa are just phenomenal in this film, mastering the negative and positive emotions with ease. Hayakawa’s heartbreaking performance as Yuki has so much depth to it, she is more than just a terminally ill woman. And Kudo masters the understated, quiet Ai who is trying to do whatever she can to hold herself and Yuki together. But what is even more impressive is their chemistry. It came as little surprise to me when I learnt that the pair had worked together before as the relationship seems so natural. They play off each other effortlessly and it just makes the film feel so much more real and devastating. My only wish would be that we could enjoy some of their scenes without the occasional background music as Kudo and Hayakawa really don’t need it, their performances speak for themselves.





 

Overall, Matcha & Vanilla is a film that warms your heart and then smashes it into a million pieces, before gluing it back together just to do it all over again. It’s both emotionally exhausting, yet incredibly rewarding and I’d definitely recommend it. Even if you’re not one for these heavy, emotional films, the performances are worth a watch on their own. With a lot of bad things happening in our world at the moment, you might be thinking ‘why on earth would I want to watch a film about someone dying?’ but Matcha & Vanilla shows us that even in tragedy, we can still find happiness and love.