X
- 2005
- R
- Indican Pictures
- 2 h 12 m
- 2005
- R
- Indican Pictures
- 2 h 12 m
Summary Japanese character actor Eiji Okuda makes his directorial debut with this romantic drama adapted from a book by Mikihiko Renjyo.
Directed By: Eiji Okuda
Written By: Katsuhiko Manabe, Izuru Narushima, Mikihiko Renjo
- 2005
- R
- Indican Pictures
- 2 h 12 m
- 2005
- R
- Indican Pictures
- 2 h 12 m
An Adolescent
54
User Score
Available after 4 ratings
tbd
Summary Japanese character actor Eiji Okuda makes his directorial debut with this romantic drama adapted from a book by Mikihiko Renjyo.
Directed By: Eiji Okuda
Written By: Katsuhiko Manabe, Izuru Narushima, Mikihiko Renjo
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 8 Critic Reviews
54
25% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
75% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 8 Critic Reviews
54
25% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
75% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
An interesting film, and while it is not entirely successful (and at times most puzzling), it achieves a certain poignancy.
Okuda creates that slightly surreal atmosphere of ghost-town emptiness that will be familiar to fans of Takeshi Miike, but he infuses it with a romantic's sense of deep yearning.
Decidedly uneven yet intriguing.
Suicide, child molestation, corruption, insanity and the faintest implication of incest are wound around the film's suggestion that the cure for modern-day alienation and anomie lies in embracing traditional Japanese culture, like ritual tattooing.
Okuda's debut behind the camera, Shoujyo, is a dirty old man's delight: schoolgirls galore in short skirts or, in Yoko's case, nothing at all. That may be enough for some viewers, but not for those who insist on a story that gives substance to its characters.
The film, at least 20 minutes too long, has too many competing story lines to succeed as more than an oddball mood piece.
The problem is that both as a director and as an actor, Okuda never makes a particularly convincing case either for sex or for deeper commitment as a road away from the abyss.
User Reviews
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
Production Company
Zero Pictures Co.,
Progressive Pictures
Release Date Sep 30, 2005
Duration 2 h 12 m
Rating R
Awards
Paris Film Festival
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
Thessaloniki Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
AFI Fest
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
