▪	RELEASED BY:		VIZ PICTURES
		▪	ASPECT RATIO:		4:3 FULL SCREEN
		▪	AUDIO:		JAPANESE DD 2.0 W/ ENGLISH SUBTITLES
		▪	RUNNING TIME:		116 MIN
		▪	RATING:		NR
		▪	RELEASE DATE:		05/13/2008
		▪	REVIEW DATE:		03/27/2008
		▪	REVIEWED BY:		SCOTT CAMPBELL

Based on the bestselling manga by Chica Umino, Honey and Clover is a romantic comedy about a group of art school students who try to scrape by, barely earning enough money buy food and pay their rent. But as soon as an innocent and talented 19-year-old girl enters their lives, things get a lot more complicated as love triangles result. Starring Yu Aoi (HULA GIRLS) and J-pop star Sho Sakurai, this live-action Japanese film is directed by Masahiro Takada.

At first glance, it’s hard to tell just what this film will be about and what the relationships are between all the different characters that have obviously known each other for so long. We’re thrown into the strange and stressful world of a Japanese art school and the lives of many of the students that attend courses there. We get to see architectural students, traditional art students, graphic design students, and even some that don’t seem to know what exactly their place is at all. The whole film is an adventure in self discovery and trying to figure out what is important and meaningful to these people. Hopefully the viewer will also be able to take something away from all this and have their eyes opened to some deep concepts as well – this film certainly allows for that if people’s minds are open to it.

Besides being poor and having little to eat and little time to sleep, the conflicts of the students also involve a number of slightly complicated and always awkward love triangles. Girl likes boy, boy likes older woman – boy stalks older woman while girl stalks boy. Sometimes they all meet and go to lunch by accident too – it’s all very awkward and certainly funny to boot if you can see humour in the troubles of people like this. Between that, and many other situations involving strained interpersonal relationships and teenage/young adult confusion, there are plenty of good lessons and a very cool sense of the film being in-tune with the “big picture,” that it’s trying so hard to show us.

It’s a pretty good watch with a lot of slice of life “goings on” and even some surreal moments. The characters have parties, and arguments, and difficulties, and joys – it’s all just life happening at an art school, and a representation of this confusing time in anyone’s life can be quite interesting to watch – especially for anyone about to go through it. The acting is good to manageable, and the pace of the film is very fitting because it allows you to know just enough about the characters to stay interested and want to know more about what makes them tick. The fact that it is based on the very popular manga and anime certainly helps it also – fans of the series should definitely check out this live-action film version.

EXTRAS:
Special interview with main cast, Director & Cast Profile, and Original Japanese Trailers.

IN SUMMARY:
Honey and Clover is a film about growing up and life, and truly experiencing those things, rather than just rushing through it all to get somewhere else. Art school students can put this on their “must see” list, and everyone else should at least take a gander because there’s a fun story and great characters to tie this one all together for the viewer.