No one likes spoilers, right? But in some films a major plot twist comes so early that the choice is to either mention it or write an entire review consisting of little more than winks and nods. For example, in Nobuhiko Obayashi's "Exchange Students" ("Tenkosei," 1982) a teenage boy and girl — spoiler alert! — exchange bodies soon after the opening credits. Sorry if I've ruined it for you.
A similar dilemma attends to "Pink and Gray" ("Pinku to Gure"), Isao Yukisada's ingeniously structured if thematically familiar film about three school friends that fame pulls apart. Heard this story before? You probably have, in its many variations, going back to the 1937 "A Star Is Born," with Janet Gaynor as the farm girl on her way up in Tinseltown and Fredric March as the alcoholic star on his way down.
Based on pop idol Shigeaki Kato's 2012 novel set in the Japanese showbiz world, "Pink and Gray" begins with the famous, handsome actor Rengo Shiraki (Yuto Nakajima) preparing to commit suicide in his high-rise apartment. Before inserting his neck into a noose, however, he leaves six "wills" in envelopes neatly arranged on the coffee table. His boyhood pal Daiki Kawata (Masaki Suda) bursts in, but too late. Which envelope will he choose?