By 1960 the Japanese economy had recovered sufficiently for the malaise to reach them that had already been afflicting restless postwar youth in the West; where it had been finding cinematic expression (among many, many others) in Britain in 'The Blue Lamp', Italy in 'I Vitelloni', America in 'The Wild One' and France in 'Les Tricheurs' that affluence and increased leisure didn't in themselves bring contentment and peace of mind.
The young men in Yoshishige Yoshida's extremely accomplished debut feature learn the hard way - like Dirk Bogarde ten years earlier in 'The Blue Lamp' - that waving guns around isn't big, isn't clever, and ends in tears.
The young men in Yoshishige Yoshida's extremely accomplished debut feature learn the hard way - like Dirk Bogarde ten years earlier in 'The Blue Lamp' - that waving guns around isn't big, isn't clever, and ends in tears.