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The Cowards Who Looked to the Sky

Original title: Fugainai boku wa sora o mita
  • 2012
  • 2h 21m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
225
YOUR RATING
Tomoko Tabata and Kento Nagayama in The Cowards Who Looked to the Sky (2012)
Drama

A married woman has an affair with a high school student. A video of their exploits soon turns up on the internet affecting the lives of both couples.A married woman has an affair with a high school student. A video of their exploits soon turns up on the internet affecting the lives of both couples.A married woman has an affair with a high school student. A video of their exploits soon turns up on the internet affecting the lives of both couples.

  • Director
    • Yuki Tanada
  • Writers
    • Misumi Kubo
    • Kôsuke Mukai
  • Stars
    • Kento Nagayama
    • Tomoko Tabata
    • Mieko Harada
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.5/10
    225
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Yuki Tanada
    • Writers
      • Misumi Kubo
      • Kôsuke Mukai
    • Stars
      • Kento Nagayama
      • Tomoko Tabata
      • Mieko Harada
    • 1User review
    • 9Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 wins

    Photos

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    Top cast

    Edit
    Kento Nagayama
    Kento Nagayama
    • Takumi
    Tomoko Tabata
    • Anzu
    Mieko Harada
    Mieko Harada
    • Midwife…
    Masataka Kubota
    Masataka Kubota
    Takashi Yamanaka
    • Keiichi…
    Ena Koshino
    • Nana
    Takahiro Miura
    Takahiro Miura
    • Fukuda
    Rie Minemura
    • Machiko…
    Guin Poon Chaw
      Miharu Tanaka
      • Director
        • Yuki Tanada
      • Writers
        • Misumi Kubo
        • Kôsuke Mukai
      • All cast & crew
      • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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      Storyline

      Edit

      User reviews1

      Review
      Review
      Featured review
      7/10
      human frailty
      A handsome high school boy begins an affair with an older married woman. When their sex tape ends up on the internet, various lives are changed forever.

      The themes of adolescent coming of age, socioeconomic class divisions in Japan, and family dysfunction, are all common concerns of modern-day Japanese cinema. Protagonist Takumi, too damn good-looking for his own good, seems surrounded by women - a doe-eyed classmate, his married sex friend, and a single-mother at a home which doubles as a Natural Birth clinic. Takumi gets to have the unusual experience for a teenage boy of experiencing the sweat, stench and tears of life coming into being first-hand.

      The sexual politics are wryly observed and the sexual encounters framed in a manner that strips them of their eroticism and makes them touching and vulnerable. Tomoko Tabata as Anzu is perfect as the needy housewife trapped with a useless husband and a (slightly overdrawn) domineering mother-in-law. Another story intrudes late in the narrative, that of Takumi's friend Ryota (Masataka Kubota). Less blessed in the looks department than Takumi, and with a mother who cares little about her offspring, unlike Takumi's devoted and wise mother, Ryota's fickle mix of jealousy and loyalty towards Takumi proves destructive.

      The characters are strong and engaging and the story would draw you in, were it not for the odd decision to structure this as a triptych, with an overlong final third devoted to Ryota's plight. This leaves Takumi and Anzu off-screen for a good half-hour right when we are most interested in seeing their reactions. Cut by at least 20 minutes, and telling all these characters tales chronologically, this would be a much more involving film. As it is the structure is a massive flaw in an otherwise mature and admirable film.
      helpful•6
      1
      • LunarPoise
      • Dec 11, 2015

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      Details

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      • Release date
        • November 17, 2012 (Japan)
      • Country of origin
        • Japan
      • Language
        • Japanese
      • Also known as
        • Những Kẻ Hèn Nhát Ngước Nhìn Bầu Trời
      • Production companies
        • Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs
        • Stairway
        • Toei Company
      • See more company credits at IMDbPro

      Technical specs

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      • Runtime
        2 hours 21 minutes
      • Color
        • Color

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