I have seen a bunch of films by left-wing director Imai Tadashi, but this is the first one set in the present day. Usually Imai sets his films in history with the intention to slyly criticize contemporary society through the period depicted. "Jun'ai monogotari" (Story of Pure Love, 1957) is more in-your-face than what is customary for the director, though perhaps the subject matter affects this too.
This here is a very timely film about two young people, Kantaro and Mitsuko, who are both outsiders in society, 1950's problem youth. Kantaro meets a youth gang who try to rape Mitsuko, and by intervening the couple meet and fall in love. However, their problems are only beginning. Imai depicts the outsider mentality and the various problems of Japanese society very passionately, as he is known to do. The film touches upon some interesting subject matters, such as the reformation of problem youth and later, another important subject through Mitsuko's sickness.
My problem with this film is its lack of focus. It's all over the place in terms of tone and narrative. At times, it's very societal and serious, with a clear didactic function and an attempt at realism. But then it also has the tendency to turn into a flashy youth exploitation film, something that Suzuki Seijun might have directed. The angrier segments of the "wanderer" narrative brought to mind other films of the era, like Ichikawa Kon's "The Punishment Room", though Imai doesn't have as clear of a message. The lack of cohesion made it less interesting as a narrative, since it made it harder to view the main couple as realistic psychological individuals. Also the film's great length makes these issues worse.
The film was, like many of Imai's works, a critical success that even won the Silver Bear for best director at the Berlin film festival. I like Imai, but found this film to be sub-par for him.
