Crazed Fruit (1956)
"Kurutta kajitsu" (original title)

Spending their summer on an exotic beach, two brothers fall for the same beautiful girl, whose charm and looks may hide more than they they bargained for.

Director:

Kô Nakahira

Writer:

Shintarô Ishihara

Stars:

Masahiko Tsugawa, Yûjirô Ishihara, Mie Kitahara

Cast

Credited cast:
Masahiko Tsugawa	...	Takishima Haruji
Yûjirô Ishihara	...	Takishima Natsuhisa
Mie Kitahara	...	Eri
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Atsuko Akashi
Yôko Benisawa	...	Kamakura Housekeeper
Harold Conway	...	Eri's husband
Ayuko Fujishiro	...	Mother
Taizô Fukami	...	Father
Keiko Hara
Shigeo Hayashi
Eiko Higashitani	...	Michiko
Shintarô Ishihara
Yoshihisa Kamo
Yoshirô Katô
Bonjin Kawaguchi

Storyline

Bored rich kids. Natsuhisa, 20, constantly teases his brother Haruji, 16, about girls. They arrive by train for a summer at the beach; at the station, Haruji spots a young woman and can think of nothing else for the next few days. When they cross paths again - she's Eri - Haru invites her to a party at the house of a friend whose parents are divorced. They start a slow courtship. Then, Natsuhisa discovers Eri's secret; instead of it ending everything, Natsuhisa initiates a triangle by seeking the favors of his younger brother's girl. Haru is unaware of this betrayal. What will happen when he finds out?

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Plot Keywords:

beach | extramarital affair | tragic ending | swimming | miscegenation | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese English

Release Date:

12 July 1956 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Crazed Fruit

Filming Locations:

Hayama, Kanagawa, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nikkatsu Film Company, Nikkatsu

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

François Truffaut was so taken with the film that he recommended it to the Cinematheque; this was the first Japanese film awarded that honor.

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Goofs

Haruji is loading groceries into a car outside a small grocery stall. Eri rides up on her bike and starts talking to him. Right behind Haruji can be seen a wall clock, the hands of which indicate a time of 4:35. The camera switches to Eri's face for a few seconds, then back to Haru, but now the clock indicates a time of 4:29.

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Connections

Referenced in 100 Years of Japanese Cinema (1995)

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Soundtracks

"Sobre las olas (Over the Waves)"
(uncredited)
Music by Juventino Rosas
Played during the amusement park sequence

User Reviews

Uneven

Very tame juvenile delinquent melodrama. Either boiled down or very true to life, but they seem very tame indeed by U.S. standards. Interesting look at Japanese life, again perhaps watered down, with a memorable ending, but getting there you have some poor rear-screen projection, uneven acting and pacing and a kind of bad "tough teen" music score that thankfully comes and goes. The music is probably the most dated aspect.

Some nice use of closeups to suggest love scenes and nice open and close structure help make up for the defects. It's not overly long but feels that way at times. Does show the influence of U.S. presence in post war Japan, though the American actors what little they have to do are pretty lousy.