89. Of Love And Law; movie review

OF LOVE AND LAW
Cert 15

95 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong sex references

I resist anyone not to fall for the good nature of Japanese lawyers Fumi and Kazu.
"Good nature? Lawyers? Surely, the two don't go together?", I hear you cry.
Well, they are not the average legal eagles. Indeed, they run the first law firm in Japan set up by an openly gay couple.
And because they are ​outsiders in a country which is straitjacketed by obedience, politeness and conformity​, they attract a range of clients who also push boundaries.
These include a teacher who was dismissed for not singing the national anthem, and a 'vagina artist', sued by the police for obscenity.

Oh, and they are battling particularly hard to change the laws which are stacked against 10,000 people who are 'unregistered' because their parents do not have traditional marriages.
Hikaru Toda's movie shows how the backwards-thinkers and forward-leaners clash in Japan.
In the West, the vagina artist would scarcely create a ripple while it would be seen as bizarre to erase an individual's identity because of the deeds of their mum or dad.
The construction of these cases is fascinating but Toda is too meandering when it comes to the personal lives of the lawyers, telling their story in small chunks rather than a clear narrative.
Therefore, while some might find talk of cats, karaoke singing and family meals to be an engaging juxtaposition against the high-profile legal battles, I felt they distracted.
In my view, the movie needed direct interviews with the two subjects and their closest colleagues and family to understand how they became to be lawyers in the first place, how they met and the precise difficulties faced.
I then wanted to know how the company has progressed and whether it is accepted in legal circles or not.
Instead, the fly-on-the-wall style makes the movie a tad disjointed.

http://ofloveandlaw.com

Reasons to watch: An insight the clash between progressive and regressive in Japan
Reasons to avoid: Flits around too much

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 6.5/10

Did you know? The World Economic Forum places Japan 114th out of 145 countries in the global gender equality ranking, far behind developing countries such as Rwanda and the Philippines.

The final word. Hikaru Toda: "I wanted to know how they (the lawyers) survived in a society like Japan's. japan is a conformist society with strict social codes governed by traditional and conservative values. You are taught from a young age not to question authority and blend in more than stand out."

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