(aka "Young Thugs: Nostalgia" or "Kishiwada shônen gurentai: Bôkyô" )
directed
by Miike Takashi
Japan 1998
The second of Miike’s Kishiwada Shônen Gurentai adaptations
is “Bôkyô”, meaning nostalgia for home, where we go back to 1969 and follow
Riichi, who is just about to enter early adolescence.
Being Riichi is not easy. He has a crush on his teacher, his family is
dysfunctional, he is “in war” with some other kids and he is beginning to
experience early sexuality. More or less the usual problems when coming of
age.
The story is structured around how the surround world affects and is reflected
by Riichi. One story deals with Riichi discovering pubic hair and learning
about the facts of life, one about how the Apollo 11 journey unites everyone,
one about a trip during the summer vacation and so on, all woven together by
an invisible string, almost as if it’s a road movie down the road to
adolescence.
There is only few Miike excursions, like when the grandfather punishes his son
by stuffing a broom up his ass. Miike demonstrates both control and respect
for the story and the children. His direction is solid and there are scenes
which almost seems as inspired by Hou. There is a sense of sensibility, the
fragile state of innocence, which captures the images, and a silent profound
humour running thru the story, noting upon the irony.
As such, “Bôkyô” is far from usual Miike. It is exceptional and the most
beautiful film Miike has made to date; perhaps even his best. It is an homage
to Osaka and to growing up, and demonstrates how a great director Miike really
is.
Theatrical Release: September 26nd, 1998
DVD Review: ArtsMagic - Region 0 - NTSC
Big thanks to Henrik Sylow for the Review!
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| Distribution |
ArtsMagic Region 0 - NTSC |
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| Runtime | 1:33:47 | |
| Video |
1.78:1 Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
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| Audio | 5.1 Dolby Digital Japanese, 2.0 Dolby Digital Japanese | |
| Subtitles | English, None | |
| Features |
Release Information: Studio: ArtsMagic Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
Chapters 13 |
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| Comments |
The image of ArtsMagic is also
in question. No exception here. It lacks detail. But apart form that the
image is quiet nice, having only minor compression artifacts. On PC there
is a little ghosting, but none is seen on stand-alone. As additional material there is a short interview with Miike, where he touches upon the specifics of the production and the story, and a nice little feature in form of a introduction to Osaka history and culture, which deserves two points of criticism. First, it’s a two part-er, where the other part is on the other “Young Thugs: Innocent Blood” DVD, so one has to buy both DVDs to get full value. Second, the presentation form with Mrs. Tucker in the corner gets old fast; A voice over would have been better. Still, one learns a lot about Osaka here. One thing dearly missing is an audio commentary by Tom Mes. |
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Recommended Reading for Japanese Film Fans (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)
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The Japan Journals : 1947-2004, by Donald Richie |
The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film by Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp |
Kon Ichikawa (Cinematheque Ontario Monographs) by James Quandt, Cinematheque Ontario |
Shohei Imamura (Cinematheque
Ontario Monographs, No. 1) by James Quandt |
Eros Plus Massacre: An
Introduction to the Japanese New Wave Cinema
(Midland Book, Mb 469) by David Desser |
The Films of Akira Kurosawa by Donald Ritchie |
by Yasujiro Ozu, Kogo Noda, Donald Richie, Eric Klestadt |
Ozu by Donald Richie |
A Hundred Years of Japanese Film by Donald Richie |
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Gary Tooze
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