Cruel Story of Youth
| Cruel Story of Youth | |
|---|---|
 The Japanese Poster. | |
| Directed by | Nagisa Oshima |
| Written by | Nagisa Oshima |
| Starring |
Yusuke Kawazu Miyuki Kuwano |
| Music by | Riichiro Manabe |
| Cinematography | Takashi Kawamata |
| Edited by | Keiichi Uraoka |
Production company |
Shochiku |
Release dates |
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Running time | 96 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
Cruel Story of Youth (青春残酷物語 Seishun Zankoku Monogatari) is a 1960 Japanese film directed by Nagisa Oshima, starring Yusuke Kawazu and Miyuki Kuwano. It is Oshima's second feature film.
Cast
- Yasuke Kawazu as Kiyoshi Fujii
- Miyuki Kuwano as Makoto Shinjo
- Yoshiko Kuga as Makoto's elder sister Yuki
- Fumio Watanabe as Akimoto
- Shinji Tanaka as Yoshimi Ito, student
- Shinjiro Matsuzaki as Terada
- Toshiko Kobayashi as Teruko Shimonishi
Production
Oshima, who was only 28 at the time, made extensive use of hand-held cameras and location shooting, and the results drew comparisons to the French nouvelle vague filmmakers emerging at around the same time; the film became one of the primary films in the Nuberu bagu.
The use of adolescent criminals as protagonists generated controversy at the time, though the film was also a commercial success, which helped to pave the way for the emergence of a young and adventurous generation of new Japanese filmmakers: in short order, Shohei Imamura, Masahiro Shinoda, Yasuzo Masumura, Susumu Hani, Hiroshi Teshigahara and others began to attract international attention. In this film, Oshima was already beginning to explore the themes he would soon become celebrated for: a focus on youth and on 'outsiders', and critical deconstructions of more stereotypical imagery in Japanese cinema.
Sources
- Donald Richie. 100 Years Of Japanese Cinema, 2003, Kodansha.
- Joan Mellen. The Waves At Genji's Door: Japan Through Its Cinema, 1975, Pantheon.
- Tadao Sato. Currents In Japanese Cinema, 1982, Kodansha.
External links
- Cruel Story of Youth at the Internet Movie Database
- Cruel Story of Youth at the Japanese Movie Database (Japanese)
- Cruel Story of Youth at AllMovie
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