Color Me True

Hideki Takeuchi's 2018 Japanese film follows Princess Miyuki, who steps out of a black and white film made in the sixties into the real world, and Kenji, an aspiring director who falls in love with her. Miyuki remains colourless and cannot touch anyone; if she does, she disappears. The film's idea is love of cinema itself: old studios, the rules of black and white framing and the production conditions of the period all sit inside the story. Haruka Ayase's performance carries the excess the template requires. The story gives in to melodrama and the emotional steering rises steeply in the final section. The visual design is its strongest element. Who it's for: viewers who like Japanese romantic fantasy and films that reference the history of cinema. Who it's not for: anyone put off by emotional steering, or wanting logical consistency.