Hatsukoi (2006)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Yukinari Hanawa

Writers:

Misuzu Nakahara (novel)
Yukinari Hanawa (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

10 June 2006 (Japan)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Writer Misuzu Nakahara confesses her involvement in the 300 Million Yen Affair. In the chaotic days of the 1960s...

Plot Keywords:

Based On Novel

Cast

Aoi Miyazaki	...	Misuzu
Keisuke Koide	...	Kishi
Masaru Miyazaki	...	Ryo
Rena Komine	...	Yuka
Tasuku Emoto	...	Takeshi
Munetaka Aoki	...	Tetsu
Yûya Matsuura
Shunji Fujimura	...	Motorcycle seller
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tadahiro Aoki	...	Tetsu
Haruko Wanibuchi

Runtime:

Japan:114 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-Stereo

Certification:

South Korea:15

Company:

GAGA Communications

Trivia:

Based on Misuzu Nakahara's allegedly "autobiographical" novel in which the writer claims that she participated in the unsolved crime widely known in Japan as "Sanoku-en jiken (300 Million Yen Affair)" when she was a high school student.

watch for the actors but not for the plot

Misuzu is a lonely high schooler abandoned by her family. One day her long-lost brother contacts her. She joins his counter-culture group of friends. Falling in love one of them, Kishi, the intellectual son of a government official. Together they plan the biggest heist in Japanese history.

The first half of the film moves slowly. Yet not much information is conveyed, it's almost as if it were a mood piece on the enervation of strung out rebels. Although these supposed counter-culturists never really do much rebelling I didn't get bored. The actors were charismatic enough to keep my attention. Though considerably lacking in tension, I liked the actors enough that I didn't notice until I saw the reviews here.

Aoi Miyazaki, as Misuzu, is one of the few young actresses able to convey actual depth without using words. this isn't her best work but she still draws you in. Her real-life brother, Masaru Miyazaki, playing her on-screen brother is also quite talented. But the most surprising was Keisuke Koide, as Kishi. I've seen him on Nodame cantabile, a Japanese television series, in which he played the comic relief. Here he turns in a straight performance, showing good versatility.

The director tries but fails to capture the excitement of the 1960s. Misuzu and her brother's friends don't seem to be passionate or knowledgeable about politics or anything for that matter. Although all the friends are introduced in the beginning, one wonders why the director even bothered, as the film doesn't develop them any further. Still each of the actors make surprisingly strong impressions; it's just a shame the director didn't bother to make better use of them and to create a better sense of camaraderie. The second half of the film picks up some speed as it gets into the actual heist. But still there is an odd lack of tension, and the actual event is almost laughingly simple. I didn't mind it but viewers expecting a heist film will.