Summer Vacation 1999 (1988) User Reviews

Homoerotic Idyll, except for...

[tangoviudo · 6/10 · 28 March 2006]

The director of this film is noted for schlock (Gamera, Godzilla and Anime), but this little film, which gained release in the West and even made it to home video, is something of a curiosity.

The yearnings of a group of schoolboys for one another at a palatial but deserted house where they attend summer school one particularly fetid year suspended somewhere between the past and the future, could be called homoerotic were it not for the obvious fact that the boys are all played by girls. The usual Japanese obsessions with unrequited passion and suicide are filtered in against the backdrop of the mysterious house and grounds. But nothing is resolved, except perhaps the suspicion that it is all only a dream.

Yuriko Nakamura's lovely piano music accompanied by Hajime Mizoguchi's cello contribute to the altogether captivating and haunting atmosphere. I only rate it above average because it doesn't amount to much more than a pretty curio. But a curio that lingers in the memory long after (more than a decade after) I first saw it.

Unlike Anything Else I've Seen

[wood-69841 · 7/10 · 28 June 2017]

This is a weird one. After watching it I was left with two questions - what's it all about and why was I so intrigued by a homoerotic drama? A boys' boarding school has closed for the summer. Four pupils have stayed on to look after themselves because they don't have homes to go to. Boy One has fallen in love with Boy Two but has been rejected, so he's jumped into the lodge and presumably drowned. The other three carry on as normal until they're joined by a newcomer, Boy Five, who looks exactly like Boy One, but he calls himself by a different name and manages to convince them that he's another person altogether. His arrival causes consternation, recriminations and jealousy. Eventually Boy Two falls in love with this newcomer, who then admits he's really Boy One and that he wanted to exact revenge by rejecting him in turn. The only way to resolve the situation is to commit suicide together and they jump into the lodge. Boys Three and Four attempt to rescue them but only succeed in saving Boy Two. Then another newcomer arrives and wouldn't you know it, he looks exactly like Boy One. There's a lot more going on here than immediately meets the eye. I like the weird computers. I like the way the boys remain disciplined although there are no adults to supervise them. And I like the way the boys fall in love with each other, with no implied sexual experimentation, as though it's the most natural thing in the world to do. The master stroke was using actresses to play all four parts. It allows a sense of intimacy to be created which would undoubtedly have been difficult to achieve using male actors, and it makes the whole story more palatable for heterosexual viewers. Definitely an oddity and worth seeing.

Like an enchanting melancholic dream enclosing a multi-love, maddening and blinding.

[HankCoT · 7/10 · 28 March 2024]

A battle for love and acceptance between four students, all trapped in an empty school located in what seems to be the middle of a forest, with nothing else in sight but a lake filled with tragedy, as well as a train station that brings unrest in the form of a ghost. Brightness pierces the screen, like a warm and cozy summer, the same summer as the one our leads desperately want to live in eternally. Calm winds blowing leaves accompanies a soothing score, guiding us with care through a jumbled mess of emotions, which slowly rises up to the surface as they untangle. This gives an illusory feeling to the story, even more so for the artistic choice of casting all girls in the roles of the four boys, which adds even more peculiarity to this futurist world.

Not much else to say, there's some over-explanation, but it never cheapened my enjoyment of the narrative.

all time favourite

[y101 · 10/10 · 27 January 2002]

this film is absolutely my personal favourite of all times.

the film sets itself in a vague time and place, it never tries to tell the audience where exactly the boarding school is; and although it says it's 1999, however it gives us a very timeless feeling when we see some strange looking computers in the classroom, what the 4 'boys' wear, and also the traditional look of the boarding school. we can never tell from the film itself unless we look at the title. this not only gives me more room for imagination but also let me get more focused on the attractive plot instead of diverting my attention to unecessary explanation of like why this school locates in this particular place, or why it got to be happening in the year 1999.

the 'boys' are living on their own with no adults around, and with no interference from the outside world. being young and fearless, they are allowed to act childish, to act in an innocent way, and need not care about how the outsiders think about them. this also avoids discussion on the supposed-to-be sensitive issue on gay relationships.

this is not a complete comment on the film, let the film speaks for itself. you will be fascinated. i know it's late to comment on this film after more then 10 years i've seen this movie, but i'm sure it's not too late as you will find it never out-of-date.

rated 10/10.

One of the most hauntingly beautiful Japanese Films

[hanasanai · 10/10 · 14 June 2000]

I like this film because it reminds me of my earlier years. The confusion, innocence, love and emotions come very close to me regardless of age and nationality. These feelings distinct in adolescence are universal which have repeated many times in my life.

I love the idea of having 4 teens abandoned in a beautiful surrounding. The piano music score is enchanting.

Deftly delving into the depths

[Frimmin' · 26 October 2001]

Hauntingly beautiful, in the tradition of "Why Has Bodhidharma Left for the East?", and "Gattaca" this is a small work of art with an excellent, though slow-moving plot, exploring the themes of loneliness, sexual repression, jealousy, tenderness, and violence. It's surreal, in a completely inconspicuous and beguiling way; no adults are ever seen, the kids constantly wear ties, the school and dormitory is unbelievably stark, parts of the story (but which?)are dreams, and the older boys are played by girls!

It works to excellent effect. It may be the best film on gay themes besides the Canadian gem "Lilies."

Languid and strange

[poikkeus · 4/10 · 16 August 2001]

Summer Vacation: 1999 is a dreamlike coming-of-age story set in a Japanese high school all but deserted for the holidays. The only boys left on campus are orphans, They keep up the daily routine and, on the side, learn about love.

It's not quite that simple, though -- for us. The narrative is set up so that each section is a dream sequence of the section that came before it -- like a Japanese Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie without the black humor. It's a boy's school, but the majority of the four boys is played by girls (probably to accentuate the homoerotic subtext of the film). And for some reason that remains obscure, it's set in 1999, with the students using weirdly anachronistic tech gadgets that would almost seem amusing if the film had any room for humor.

When a boy, Yu, commits suicide, their small group never quite gets over it. But when a boy named Kaoru -- the virtual image of Yu -- appears at their doorstep as a new student, no one's certain if it's a sham or some fantastic coincidence. He's certainly more aggressive than meek Kaoru, and his presence awakens romantic stirrings in the boys that will lead to conflict and even violence.

The setting is pretty, the photography is pretty -- even the boys (rather, girls) are pretty. They talk about feelings and deep emotional things that are off-territory even for most girls. It's not surprising that somehow the film itself comes off as false.

one of the best movie you probably haven't seen

[marymorrissey · 10/10 · 28 December 2007]

It's touching to read the reviews for this very special movie. I actually watched it only because I found a VHS copy selling for $1 at a thrift store and it is certainly one of my all time favorites. And this film provides a strange speculative "answer" to so many films out there about... being in a romantic quagmire. I think RW Fassbinder would have adored this movie and I bet Wong Kar Wai did and many others....

It looks as though there is no DVD of this film available but at the moment used copies of the VHS are available starting at 2 bucks on amazon... and you you and YOU should get one!

I have to add more lines: I got mine!

Imaginative

[Nickel_deja · 10/10 · 2 June 2006]

I watched the movie for more than 10 times, every time I watched it, I treated it as a new movie. The movie has no time-frame, no sex and no where. It was said to be happened in 1999, but the feel was old. The actors were said to be boys, but actually they are girls. The school should be in Japan but it was more like a western school. So there can be many combinations:

1 boy + 3 girls + western school + future 3 boys + 1 girl + Japanese school + past 2 boys + 2 girls + western school + future

. . .

There were many ingredients too, friendship, love, scenery, music, family, parents (yes), city and rural, education and even IT . . .

I think this film is very good.

[rosannalau · 10/10 · 10 June 2000]

This film is the best movie I have ever seen.I like the actresses and also the story.The story is interesting and unusual.I have seen this movie for at least 10 times .I like it very much .The actresses act very well.They are professional although they act as boys.Overall,this film is very good.All of you will enjoy it.

A story so memorable, it led me to search for an old friend!

[ofe · 7 May 2002]

I took a serious look at this film on march the 7th 1997,, in line with other such movies as part of an East Asian film series held at IU in Bloomington Indiana.

Since then i've payed close attention to the japanese academy awards, Juzo Itami(and his death),,being in college and having suicidal ideation made it all the more comforting in that one particular director. Minbo&Tampopo along with Taxing woman.This lead to Qiu Ju, Raise the red lantern and Ju dou, all by director Zhang Yimou. Lastly was Why has the Bodhi-Dharma left for the east, by korean director Bai Young-Kyun.

I owe it all to the memorable visual eye candy and myself coming out and coming of age, as to the reason that i love this film. Also for the fact that seeing it for the second time was like the first time. Seeing it with my aunti who was an avid film freak, not keeping in touch with her so thinking that i would never see it again. Then to just come upon it one day in a required fine arts assignment in college. The task was to see all the films of all the film series, run by both the fine arts dept and the language and cultural depts. Seeing animations from the eastern block countries of a political nature and then the high art surrealistic movies of 1970's germany, and various films that reminded me of Baraka.Reintroductions to Maya Arden. All this inspiration from one source.

I love film, but hollywood 90+ percent of the time missed the mark. Sure a few good scenes here followed by some good lines there with lots of advertising savvy to get you there in the first place. Though if you want good movies that get you to think outside of your comfort zone,the whole world is out there. Hollywood movies and their formulaic approach is like apple sauce for the aged when they have teeth.

best movie you haven't seen

[marymorrissey · 10/10 · 28 December 2007]

It's touching to read the reviews for this very special movie. I actually watched it only because I found a VHS copy selling for $1 at a thrift store and it is certainly one of my all time favorites. And this film provides a strange speculative "answer" to so many films out there about... being in a romantic quagmire. I think RW Fassbinder would have adored this movie and I bet Wong Kar Wai did and many others....

It looks as though there is no DVD of this film available but at the moment used copies of the VHS are available starting at 2 bucks on amazon... and you you and YOU should get one!

I have to add more lines: I got mine!