Athlete

"I want to live my life being me."

2019 1h 28m JA

😐

5.6

MID

★5.6TMDB · 14

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Ex-swimmer Kōhei, facing divorce, meets aspiring animator Yūtaka in Tokyo’s gay district. Their fiery attraction deepens amid emotional highs and lows.

“I want to live my life being me.”

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Cast

Joe Nakamura
Kaido Kōhei
Kondo Yohdi
Imaizumi Yūtaka (Yūta)
Reina Tasaki
Kaido Mizuna
Yoshiaki Umegaki
Priscilla
Minamoto Rai
Mimosa

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Takamasa Oe
Writers: Yasutoshi Murakawa
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

RUNTIME

Did you know

88 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 7 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Joe Nakamura and Kondo Yohdi and Reina Tasaki carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "I want to live my life being me.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt9664838 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 14 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Takamasa Oe directs. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

188 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Released 7 years ago.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Joe Nakamura and Kondo Yohdi and Reina Tasaki carry the top of the cast.
5Marketing tagline: "I want to live my life being me.".
6IMDB entry: tt9664838 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 14 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
8Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Runtime: 88 min · 1h 28m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: JA
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Athlete (2019)

Also by

Takamasa Oe

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-03-28
★ 6/10
A stylishly filmed story about a thirty-something swimming teacher who, having been divorced by his wife, encounters a young man and together they embark on a journey of self-discovery. It's all pretty predictable stuff: inner demons are faced and it has it's fair share of love, lust, jealousy - and, of course, external family problems that all weigh heavily on the younger man as he struggles to find and accept love and on the older as he deals with his teenage daughter. The ending, though really quite unfulfilling, is actually appropriate and honest. Two decent performances from Joe Nakamura and Yohdi Kondo keep this interesting, if not exactly thought-provoking.

Production companies