The Boy Made in Japan

1995 1h 45m JA

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 1

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Yamato Tanaka, who attempted to murder his father in the past, used to work as a janitor in a theme park. Now unemployed, Yamato lives in a very humble apartment room. He lost his family by the crime he committed with the urge he himself couldn’t and even now can explain. He has nowhere to go, and becomes isolated in the big city. His continuous job search is unsuccessful, and one day he meets a young girl Kaoru who is passing out advertisement packaged with free tissue to the crowd at a train station. He aggressively gets involved with her. The two immediately feel the mutual isolation and desperation within themselves. These are youngsters with no purpose in their lives, symbolizing the Japanese society which passed the post-war economic peak period. Yamato and Kaoru go down the road of destruction, being sucked into the deep, dark ditch of society. Filling the screen images both stark and surreal, director Ataru Oikawa draws an unadulterated portrait of youth.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Mikio Osawa
Yamato Tanaka
Kaori Shimada
Kaoru
Kazuyoshi Suzuki
Shoji Mari
Ataru Oikawa

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ataru Oikawa
Writers: Ataru Oikawa
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

31 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

CRAFT

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ataru Oikawa, shot by Hideo Yamamoto. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Akira Kiyoshi Okada shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Mikio Osawa and Kaori Shimada and Kazuyoshi Suzuki carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt4883048 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 1 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ataru Oikawa directs. Hideo Yamamoto behind the camera. Akira Kiyoshi Okada cuts. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

131 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
3Directed by Ataru Oikawa, shot by Hideo Yamamoto. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Editor Akira Kiyoshi Okada shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Mikio Osawa and Kaori Shimada and Kazuyoshi Suzuki carry the top of the cast.
6IMDB entry: tt4883048 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 1 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.