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Hatsukoi

  • 2006
  • 1h 54m
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
323
YOUR RATING
Aoi Miyazaki in Hatsukoi (2006)
CrimeDramaRomance

Writer Misuzu Nakahara confesses her involvement in the 300 Million Yen Affair. In the chaotic days of the 1960s, Misuzu, a lonely high school girl from a troubled family, finds a sanctuary ... Read allWriter Misuzu Nakahara confesses her involvement in the 300 Million Yen Affair. In the chaotic days of the 1960s, Misuzu, a lonely high school girl from a troubled family, finds a sanctuary with her nihilistic brother Ryo and his friends, who pass day by day hanging around a shad... Read allWriter Misuzu Nakahara confesses her involvement in the 300 Million Yen Affair. In the chaotic days of the 1960s, Misuzu, a lonely high school girl from a troubled family, finds a sanctuary with her nihilistic brother Ryo and his friends, who pass day by day hanging around a shadowy café bar and indulging themselves in sex, drugs and alcohol. As the social unrest seep... Read all

  • Director
    • Yukinari Hanawa
  • Writers
    • Misuzu Nakahara
    • Yukinari Hanawa
    • Harumi Ichikawa
  • Stars
    • Aoi Miyazaki
    • Keisuke Koide
    • Masaru Miyazaki
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.1/10
    323
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Yukinari Hanawa
    • Writers
      • Misuzu Nakahara
      • Yukinari Hanawa
      • Harumi Ichikawa
    • Stars
      • Aoi Miyazaki
      • Keisuke Koide
      • Masaru Miyazaki
    • 4User reviews
    • 8Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos

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    Top cast

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    Aoi Miyazaki
    Aoi Miyazaki
    • Misuzu
    Keisuke Koide
    Keisuke Koide
    • Kishi
    Masaru Miyazaki
    • Ryo
    Rena Komine
    • Yuka
    Tasuku Emoto
    Tasuku Emoto
    • Takeshi
    Munetaka Aoki
    Munetaka Aoki
    • Tetsu
    Yûya Matsuura
    Yûya Matsuura
    Shunji Fujimura
    Shunji Fujimura
    • Motorcycle seller
    Tadahiro Aoki
    • Tetsu
    Tomono Kuga
    • Misuzu's Mother
    Haruko Wanibuchi
    • Director
      • Yukinari Hanawa
    • Writers
      • Misuzu Nakahara
      • Yukinari Hanawa
      • Harumi Ichikawa
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • 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.

    User reviews4

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    6/10
    Disappointing rendition of an intriguing story
    The largest robbery in Japan's history was a decidedly humdrum affair. On December 10th 1968, a police motorbike intercepted a car transporting bonus money to the factories of Toshiba in Fuchu, Tokyo. Convincing the car's occupants that their vehicle had been rigged with explosives, the rider let them scarper and then pinched it, complete with the contents of its trunk: cases containing 300 million yen. Despite a massive investigation, police never apprehended the culprits, and the case was closed in 1975.

    That wouldn't be the end of it, though. Over 30 years later, a little-known writer going by the name of Misuzu Nakahara penned Hatsukoi, an autobiographical novel in which she claimed to be the mysterious rider. At the time of the robbery, she was only a high school student.

    It's a ripe topic for filming, and Yukinari Hanawa's picture seems to have a lot stacked in its favor: a decent budget, evocative counter-culture settings and indie it-girl du jour Aoi Miyazaki in the title role. We follow Misuzu as, escaping a dismal home life, she starts hanging out with her brother and his mates at a scummy red light district jazz bar. There, she's drawn to the intelligent, aloof Kishi (Keisuke Koide), who buries his nose in books as he harbors plans for a perfect heist.

    Plenty of dramatic potential here, then, but Hatsukoi is a curiously enervated piece of work, forever teetering on the brink between subtle and downright dull. Central to its problems is Miyazaki herself: her Misuzu is little more than a cipher, drifting impassively from one situation to the next. We're left with a gaping hole where the heart of this film should be, and the support cast struggle to fill it.

    Given that the veracity of the source novel is hotly disputed, too, it seems odd that Hanawa should choose to do such a straight reading. I found myself longing for the ambiguity of, say, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, where you were never quite sure if the protagonist was a covert operative or merely a crackpot.
    helpful•10
    7
    • Yojimbo81
    • Dec 6, 2006

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • June 10, 2006 (Japan)
    • Country of origin
      • Japan
    • Language
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • First Love
    • Production company
      • Gaga
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Gross worldwide
      • $3,846
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 54 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS-Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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