Don't Laugh at My Romance

Don't Laugh at My Romance, or Sex Is No Laughing Matter (人のセックスを笑うな/Hito no Sex wo Warauna), is a Japanese film released in 2009 that stars Matsuyama Kenichi, Nagasaku Hiromi, Aoi Yu, and Shugo Oshinari. The summary is as follows:

Mirume is a 19 year old college student who falls in love with Yuri, an almost 40 year old art teacher at his university. Yuri isn't your typical college professor, having a quirky sense of humor and unpredictable personality. When Yuri invites Mirume to her studio, she playfully seduces the still naive 19 year old student. Things become more complicated when Mirume discovers that Yuri is married to a much older man....

The main reason why I wanted to watch this was because Matsuyama was in it and he's one of my favorite actors. The second reason is simply because the summary sounded intriguing. Despite the title of the film, there's nothing explicit in the content. Only the subject is for more mature viewers - I mean, I'm pretty sure a 19-year-old guy and a 39-year-old woman together wouldn't be that well thought of, not to mention one's a teacher and the other, her student.

It sort of reminded me of the many films I had to watch for my Chinese Film and Literature class. It had a plot there, but you might need to think a little before you get the message. It's also long and slow and not something someone would actually go watch for pure entertainment reasons (I suppose this would also depend on what you enjoy watching). I suppose it was sort of artsy. O_o Either way, the acting was good, and I'm not saying that because I'm biased. :) However, since I prefer more fast-paced movies, this didn't quite stick with me, but if nothing else works - Matsuyama Kenichi's almost completely naked in one scene. And for a 24-year-old guy playing a 19-year-old student, it's pretty good, the way he portrayed Mirume.

You can watch it here.