:
Ko Nakahira
see all cast/crew...
: Not Rated
: Criterion
: Drama, Foreign, Japan, Erotica, Criterion Collection
: 86 min.
: Japanese
: English
see additional details...
|
|
Two brothers compete for the amorous favors of a young woman during a seaside summer of gambling, boating, and drinking, in this seminal Sun Tribe (taiyozoku) film from director Ko Nakahira. Adapted from the controversial novel by Shintaro Ishihara, and critically savaged for its lurid portrayal of the postwar sexual revolution among Japan's young and privileged, Crazed Fruit is an anarchic outcry against tradition and the older generation.
Features:
- Audio commentary by renowned Japanese-film scholar Donald Richie
- Theatrical trailer
|
| Japanese Youth, Post-WWII
by talltale
July 9, 2005 - 3:53 PM PDT
|
|
|
10 out of 10 members found this review helpful
|
CRAZED FRUIT is the story of a gay serial killer--no, I'm kidding! But doesn't that title just cry out for a funny follow-up? Directed by Kasushi Nakahira, this is evidently one of the seminal Japanese movies from the mid 50s, and Criterion has given it the usual splendid DVD transfer. I suspect movie buffs and Asia-philes will find this one worth their while.
Understanding a particular time and place is often crucial to the appreciation of a foreign film, and this is certainly is true here: Japan a decade after the end WWII is neither a location nor an era of which most Americans will have much knowledge. For this alone, the movie fascinates. You will not have seen, in an American film, anything quite like what happens to these kids, even given the censorship restraints of one-half-century ago. While the young "delinquents" shown here may provoke as many smiles as shocks, they do not seem terribly different from the pampered, upper-class youth of any western country. Yet the strange stew you'll encounter of love, sex, shame, brotherhood and post-war Japanese culture (remember water skiing, sailing and motor-boating with an Evinrude?) should leave its mark.
The four leads (three young men and one young woman)are each, in his or her way, quite beautiful, and so is the rich, crystalline, black-and-white seaside photography. The commentary by Donald Richie is worth a listen if you have time for even a partial second viewing. The first few minutes, in particular, will give you some interesting background. |
|
|
GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 6.17)
46 Votes
add to list 
|
|
|
Your cart
helsin99
© 2006 All Media Guide, LLC. Portions of content provided by All Movie Guide®,
a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.