• 青春残酷物語 (Cruel Story of Youth / Naked Youth)

8/15/26 (Sat)

Oshima Nagisa’s sensational 1960 sophomore effort proved a major hit for Shochiku, a far cry from its staid family fare at the time. The cruelty in the title is no joke. In line with the nihilistic Sun Tribe films that were popular at the time with all the usual images (motorboats, Hawaiian shirts, nightclubs, apathetic men, casual sex, abortions), but showing the seamy side of society rather than aimless middle class (though the main character did identify Beethoven from a few notes). Stylistically in line with New Wave French films with its jumpy camerawork and discordant images; Oshima specifically cites Breathless as an inspiration. This film sparked what is known as a Japanese New Wave, though he dismisses the phrase as a mere signal for sex and violence – which is certainly true in his case.

A female high school senior who has hitched a ride with an older gent is taken by force to a love hotel. As she struggles, a passing university hunk steps in and rescues her with force of his own, leading the man to offer money to let him go. The grateful woman and he meet the next day at an Anpo protest, which doesn’t interest them at all (any more than the contemporaneous protests in Korea in the movie that they were supposed to see). The riot was something to see rather than something to do, and they leave quickly. They take a boat to the shore, where the man pushes her into the water, prevents her from coming ashore despite her struggles, then picks her from the water and forces himself upon her. She becomes obsessed with him (similar to the woman raped in the Kabuki play Sakurahime).

He begins using her as bait to pick up men, who he can then threaten and extort money from. She goes along with it to please him. The problem begins when she takes pity on one man, a company owner, who actually treats her with decency in sharp contrast with other men, including her boyfriend. She ends up spending the night with him. Her boyfriend then approaches the man without her knowledge and tells the man that it was all a setup. The man pays him off and tells him to get lost.

The woman learns she is pregnant. The bf orders her to get an abortion, turning to an old friend who has become a doctor but must resort to illegal actions for money. Stripped of her illusions, she agrees.

They are then arrested for extortion by the police, who tell them that the company owner has reported them. They are eventually released with the help of the boyfriend’s other older lover (it’s complicated), but he rats on the doctor, who is then arrested.

The couple finally agree to break up. But in the end, he is killed by bikers when the stolen motorcycle that they lent him was identified by police, while she dies jumping out of a car when the driver refuses to let her out.

Apathy reeks in the film among the men, especially the boyfriend. They are rebels without a cause and have no problem abusing the older generation for the money that they disparage. When the woman’s older sister complains to their father about his easier treatment of the younger sibling, he notes that after the war there was a sense of purpose, giving him a reason to discipline her. Now, he says, society has no direction, and right and wrong aren’t as clear. It’s a provocative theme packaged in a hard-hitting film.

I haven’t touched upon the boyfriend’s roommate, who brings his own flames into the tawdry space when the other isn’t using it. They casually walk in on each other during intimate moments, which the girls seem to accept. The men have no jobs or any evident interest in getting one, instead pursuing any money-making scheme that comes their way, legal or otherwise. The women have no self-respect and open themselves to abuse in the fantasy that the men will somehow come around. It’s an uncomfortable look at one segment of society.

Apparently Oshima’s fearless style, a cosmic leap from the quieter films that Shochiku in particular was known for, opened the way for adventurous filmmakers like Imamura and Shinoda, shocking audiences in the way of the later Easy Rider or Bonnie & Clyde. It ably sums up the lost faith of the postwar generation.

Kawazu Yusuke was perfectly cast as the stony lead. He almost earns our sympathy in a beautiful long shot when he places an apple tenderly next to his sleeping girlfriend after her abortion, then eats his own apple blankly while sitting next to her. He is not entirely without conscience or culture; he did save his future girlfriend when she was being threatened by a man, and he identified Beethoven from a few notes. But those were aberrations in a self-centered life. Kawazu bravely does not attempt to make the boyfriend likable in any way, creating a nasty but believable character. Kuwano Miyuki also impressed as the put-upon girlfriend, and Kuga Yoshiko scored as the elder sister. A tough, no-nonsense portrait of the times.