Cruel Story of Youth (1960) on Netflix
Makoto takes rides from middle-aged men until a driver tries to molest her and Kiyoshi rescues her. With no money, the pair become lovers and extort the drivers she picks up.
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- Netflix4.2/5
- IMDb6.9/102,921 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes100%
Trailer
Plot summary
Kiyoshi treats women as objects, and Makoto, with her friends, accepts rides from middle-aged men and calls it fun. When a driver tries to molest her, Kiyoshi fights him off. He takes her to watch the Anpo protests and then onto a river, and the two begin a relationship of mutual abuse that they call love. Gangsters who prostitute women corner Makoto at a bar, and Kiyoshi fights them off in exchange for a payment. Her older sister Yuki rebukes her, and Makoto moves in with Kiyoshi. Neither has money, so Makoto lures male drivers and Kiyoshi extorts them when they make advances.
Cast
- Shinji Tanakaas Yoshimi Ito, student
- Yosuke Hayashi
- Yuki Tominagaas Toshiko Nishioka
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Cruel Story of Youth (1960)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The film's use of adolescent criminals as protagonists caused controversy in 1960, but its commercial success helped pave the way for Japanese directors including Shohei Imamura, Masahiro Shinoda, Yasuzo Masumura, Susumu Hani and Hiroshi Teshigahara.
- Nagisa Ōshima was only 28 when he made the film, and he relied heavily on hand-held cameras and location shooting; the results drew comparisons to the French nouvelle vague filmmakers of the same era.
