Flying Colours (2015) review

Review / commentary written on Letterboxd last year.

Thought I'd share it here. Beware of spoilers, bad grammar and plain mistakes! :3c

"You go and find your own dreams too, okay?"

this movie literally broke me in a million of tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny piecea and i don't know if i'll ever be able to put them all together once again. it was a punch to the stomach. like, it's not that deep! it can't be that deep! it's just a movie about a dumb girl who wants to prove her teachers and father wrong by going to one of the best universities of the country. it's a silly movie, right? right? WRONG. this movie has so many layers i don't even know where to start with my review!!

sayaka is such a touching and beloved main character...... i loved her so much!!!! she's a good friend, a good sister and a good daughter!! i just wish her happiness forever and ever......

and i wish the same for her mother. the best character of the movie. such a brave and wonderful woman i can't even express how much i love her cause there's not enough words in the entire world...... seeing her protecting and standing up for her children all the time, she's an icon. i... i just love her so much????????????? i really really thought she was going to die before the end of the movie as it's often the case with such characters but i'm glad she got her happy ending, or something resembling. my only wish was that she'd divorce the gigantic scumbag she's married to but seeing they decided to give him some sort of redemption....... it was not going to happen.

as much as i LOVED sayaka's mom, i really wish throughout all the movie that her dad would die. he's the worst character. i hate him with a burning passion. firstly because he's an abusive piece of shit and secondly because he's just like my own father. projecting their fucking stupid dreams onto their children, pushing them too far and then leaving them with broken minds. i hate men like that. not to mention he's violent and abusive towards everyone and STILL they decide to pardon him because he does one or two good things???????? the ending would've been better if they just kicked him out. ryota can work to help his mother while he finds his own way through life. they don't this asshole. they can be happy, just the four of them.

ryota's character arc was especially important to me because i found some pieces of my younger brother in him. and i loved to see that he survived the abuse and everything he went through at such a young age. even thought i kinda hated it i was also glad to see him forgive his father. because i think the resentment wouldn't have taken him anywhere. he's too young to hate. he has too many things to discover. hatred clouds our mind and our judgment and i'm glad the movie decided to give him a way out of it. i'm glad he hsd the chance to start again with a blank slate. :) but still, fuck their father.

speaking of fathers, tsubota sensei is such a great father figure for sayaka and the other kids..!!!!!! the way he adapts his method so he can help everyone? his impact on these children will truthfully guide them all throughout their lives, without a doubt. and to think such a man really exist and this whole story was inspired by a true one?????? i really appreciate that :(

i think this movie carries a very important message. it's never too late. you can always try. and even if you don't succeed, it's okay. you can ALWAYS try. and i think i really needed to hear that today. when i'm at a point in my life where i don't know what to do or where to go. i just needed someone to tell me that's okay. i still got time. i still can try. this movie and its story really are hopeful and so thoughtful.......

also, i really really really loved sayaka and reiji's non-romance!! like, they were so cute and i have no doubt they'll find each other in the future and i'd really like to see them together BUT as much as i'm a romantic and a sucker for love in movies, i'm glad their relationship was this way. i loved their dynamic and the way they supported each other.. :)<3

overall, this movie was wonderful. it wasn't what i was expecting at ALL and i'm sooooo glad it turned out that way!!!! what a good surprise! i'll stop the rambling there but yeah, it was a really good movie and i'm so happy it exists.