Featuring one of the best screenplays we have seen in an Atg movie, by Takehiro Nakajima (some allege it was inspired by his own life), who won a number of awards in 1976 for his effort, “Preparation for the Festival” is another great sample of the company's catalog, that takes a rather realistic, as much as comedic look at the life in rural Japan during the 50s, also channeling intense erotic elements. The film was included in the top 200 of Kinema Junpo critics, in number 157.
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The story revolves around Takeo, a young man in his 20s, who is working as a clerk in the small town he has been living in all his life. However, Takeo's mind is definitely elsewhere as his thoughts are monopolized by his will to leave for Tokyo, and finally losing his virginity, with the latter...
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The story revolves around Takeo, a young man in his 20s, who is working as a clerk in the small town he has been living in all his life. However, Takeo's mind is definitely elsewhere as his thoughts are monopolized by his will to leave for Tokyo, and finally losing his virginity, with the latter...
- 8/22/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
A young woman and her friend unknowingly invade a gay beach, where the open displays of affection and naked flesh intrigue pretty, self-sufficient Sayoko. So begins Takehiro Nakajima's accomplished dramatic comedy that ranks as the most thorough examination of gay life in modern Japan.
While non-fatally flawed by an excessive running time -- some viewers will begin to lose interest -- ''Okoge'' transcends its specific milieu to provide the expected high and low points of a screen romance. The soft-core lovemaking scenes and same-sex romantic maneuvering limit its appeal, but Nakajima's film is a fully realized character study that thoughtful audiences of all persuasions will enjoy and ponder.
Sayoko (Misa Shimizu) is an ''Okoge'' -- a woman who seeks the company of gay men -- with no romantic life of her own. She finds the love between young craftsman Goh (Takehiro Murata) and his married lover Tochi (Takeo Nakahara) a thing of beauty and comfort. Indeed, she invites them to use her apartment for their clandestine meetings, then watches their relationship gradually fall apart as Tochi succumbs to pressure at work and home about his closeted homosexuality.
When Sayoko attempts to find a new lover for Goh, she follows his lead with momentous results. Not only is her friendship with Goh temporarily ended, but she is raped and impregnated, a poignant and ironic fate for one we learn was sexually abused as a child. Goh, meanwhile, confesses his gayness to his family with mixed results. His mother, beginning to lose her grip on reality, is particularly unable to accept the situation and blames herself.
''Okoge'' covers a lot of ground with the urgency of a story that must be told. Years pass and characters come and go, but the scattered story never feels less than authentic. Strengthened immeasurably by the performances of Shimizu and Murata, ''Okoge'' is carefully consistent in its approach. Yoshimasa Hakata's cinematography is outstanding as are the rest of the film's technical aspects.
OKOGE
Cinevista
Producer-writer-directorTakehiro Nakajima
Producers Yoshinori Takazawa, Masashi Moromizato
Director of photography Yoshimasa Hakata
Sound Makio Ika
Art direction Kunihiro Inomata
Editor Kenji Goto
Music Hiroshi Ariyoshi
Color
Cast:
Sayoko Misa Shimizu
Goh Takehiro Murata
Tochi Takeo Nakahara
Kurihara Masayuki Shionoya
Kineo, Goh's mother Noriko Sengoku
Yayoi Toshie Negishi
Tamio Atsushi Fukazawa
Running time -- 120 minutes
No MPAA Rating
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
While non-fatally flawed by an excessive running time -- some viewers will begin to lose interest -- ''Okoge'' transcends its specific milieu to provide the expected high and low points of a screen romance. The soft-core lovemaking scenes and same-sex romantic maneuvering limit its appeal, but Nakajima's film is a fully realized character study that thoughtful audiences of all persuasions will enjoy and ponder.
Sayoko (Misa Shimizu) is an ''Okoge'' -- a woman who seeks the company of gay men -- with no romantic life of her own. She finds the love between young craftsman Goh (Takehiro Murata) and his married lover Tochi (Takeo Nakahara) a thing of beauty and comfort. Indeed, she invites them to use her apartment for their clandestine meetings, then watches their relationship gradually fall apart as Tochi succumbs to pressure at work and home about his closeted homosexuality.
When Sayoko attempts to find a new lover for Goh, she follows his lead with momentous results. Not only is her friendship with Goh temporarily ended, but she is raped and impregnated, a poignant and ironic fate for one we learn was sexually abused as a child. Goh, meanwhile, confesses his gayness to his family with mixed results. His mother, beginning to lose her grip on reality, is particularly unable to accept the situation and blames herself.
''Okoge'' covers a lot of ground with the urgency of a story that must be told. Years pass and characters come and go, but the scattered story never feels less than authentic. Strengthened immeasurably by the performances of Shimizu and Murata, ''Okoge'' is carefully consistent in its approach. Yoshimasa Hakata's cinematography is outstanding as are the rest of the film's technical aspects.
OKOGE
Cinevista
Producer-writer-directorTakehiro Nakajima
Producers Yoshinori Takazawa, Masashi Moromizato
Director of photography Yoshimasa Hakata
Sound Makio Ika
Art direction Kunihiro Inomata
Editor Kenji Goto
Music Hiroshi Ariyoshi
Color
Cast:
Sayoko Misa Shimizu
Goh Takehiro Murata
Tochi Takeo Nakahara
Kurihara Masayuki Shionoya
Kineo, Goh's mother Noriko Sengoku
Yayoi Toshie Negishi
Tamio Atsushi Fukazawa
Running time -- 120 minutes
No MPAA Rating
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
- 7/21/1993
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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