Cruel Story of Youth

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Virgo V @vision Dec 13, 2025 Cruel Story of Youth (Seishun Zankoku Monogatari) is a 1960 Japanese film directed and written by Nagisa Ōshima. It stars Yusuke Kawazu and Miyuki Kuwano. It was produced by Shochiku Company, Limited. Vision wrote: "the colours in the film stand out more than anything else. Probably the first Japanese colour film that has stood out for me. But I was confused by the unexplained political and social references used in the film. I felt the story was told too distantly from its point. Kawazu and Kuwano are teenage delinquents and lovers. It is a sociological study, nothing more. The film should have been renamed to the 'Usual Story of Youth.' I would give the film two and a half fries for the cinematography and the production." See more

Aug 21, 2017 I liked seeing a raw, edgy, uninhibited side of Japan, and director Nagisa Oshima's style which mirrored the French New Wave directors from this period whom he admired. I liked the nice cuts and shots he captured, the rock and jazz music in the soundtrack, and his unflinching look at the cynicism present in Japan following WWII. There are some who relate it to "Rebel Without a Cause", but I don't like the comparison, because "Cruel Story of Youth" is over-the-top in its darkness and nihilism, none of the characters are likeable, and one doesn't get any sense of the 'tragic, misunderstood, disaffected youth' or feel empathy towards them. There's also not enough content which relates their delinquent behavior to their upbringing or the times which would allow us to see it as an indictment of society. You could say all this darkness is because life in Japan after the war was far darker than America, and while there is some truth to that, the film's biggest problem is the cruelty towards women which pervades it. You'll see attempted rape, rape (twice), attempted forced prostitution, an extortion scheme that involves using a woman as bait in dangerous situations, using women young and old as sex objects without any feeling, and utter indifference to abortion from a surprise pregnancy. Cruel story, indeed. The lead female character is shockingly stupid. There are some characters in films who are just stupid, regardless of their sex, but this is part of a larger theme. The film is all about in-your-face rebellion in its content, frankness, and even style (which I ordinarily love) - and yet how sad is that Oshima perpetuates the (very traditional) theme of misogyny. It's the combination of this and the general unlikeability of the whole thing that tempers my review score to an average rating, for what is such a landmark film from a talented director. See more

s r @ScottR Jun 18, 2017 Tragic and sad, but a powerful movie. See more

Jun 11, 2017 A fairly interesting "modern" story and look, especially for it's time, but very uneven direction and performances. The film started off fine but got more and more erratic and awkward, especially in the later half with a badly done ending. Still a pretty strong story, I could see this film being remade and improved though, doing well with contemporary audiences. See more

Apr 30, 2016 Nagisa Oshima's second film is a key entry in the Japanese new wave of the 1960's but is still quite conventional by his later standards. Miyuki Kuwano plays a motherless high school girl ("Mako") who comes under the influence of bad boy "Kiyoshi" (played by Yusuke Kawazu) who seems to care little about anything or anyone. He uses violence to get his way (including with Mako) and sells his body to an older woman for money and favours. She is hopelessly and helplessly naïve but sees value in rebelling against her father, older sister, and school. Together, they develop a scam to rob older guys who pick her up on the street but this doesn't always turn out well. Most of the time, they are alienated and confused, not caring about the consequences of their actions. Oshima is purposefully sensational and melodramatic here, commenting explicitly on post-war Japan's social problems. But he also uses the widescreen format to create dazzling colour arrangements, bordering on the experimental and he wilfully defies viewer expectations (as in a long scene where Kiyoshi simply eats an apple in giant close-up). Oshima would take this approach further in the rest of his career but here he sows the seeds of his later rebellion. See more

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Cruel Story of Youth

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