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

Movie that spawned a generation of culture

This is the first movie I've seen starring Yujiro Ishihara. I've heard something about the culture him and his brother Shintaro represented in the '50s, but it was way before my time, and I had no idea what this cultural phenomena was about in the '50s Japan. It's nice to find that Criterion Collection have revived this masterpiece.

Writer of this movie - Shintaro Ishihara made his debut as a writer with the novel "Season of the Sun" which described the decadent lifestyle of the affluent youth of Japan a year before this movie was made. The youth culture depicted in this novel was called "Sun Tribe", and in this movie Haruji (Masahiko Tsugawa) has a line where he describes his older brother and friends "They call folks like you the Sun Tribe.". Shintaro's younger brother Yujiro Ishihara plays the role of Haruji's elder brother Natsuhisa in this movie.

Basically, it's about the culture of the affluent set in Japan, but the genius of Shintaro Ishihara was that he already saw through the facade of shallow life style such living can bring and put it down in a novel which was both entertaining, and with style no one had written previously. Such an awesome insight from a person who is still in his early 20s.

The casting of this movie reads like who's who of young actors who went on to support mainstream Japanese cinema, and TV dramas for the next 20 years. This movie is also the debut movie for actor Masahiko Tsugawa who we see frequently in today's movie from Japan. He was called in by Shintaro after Shintaro spotted him at a wedding. Shintaro described that Tsugawa left an indelible impression on him when he first saw him.

Not too many people can stay in forefront of society for over 50 years influencing the course of that society, but Shintaro Ishihara has done just that as he is the present mayor of Tokyo.

Actress Mie Kitahara who played Eri, and Yujiro Ishihara marries four years later, this movie bringing the two together.

I've heard that Shintaro was abolished for writing decadent lifestyle of youth when his first novel Taiyo no Kisetsu (also made into movie in '56) came out, but actually I think this is a movie all youth should see as a warning not to indulge in this type of behavior, as it was the point with Shintaro's writing as well. This movie is written masterfully with all the critical points placed in its right place.

If you watch this movie without the background information of Japan in the '50s, it may appear as few spoiled kids having a wild time, but the true insight of this movie goes much deeper than that. Highly recommended.