Kisses (くちづけ, Kuchizuke), also titled The Kiss, is a 1957 Japanese drama film directed by Yasuzō Masumura, based on a novel by Matsutarō Kawaguchi.[1][2] It was Masumura's debut as a director[3][4] and is regarded as a precursor of the Japanese New Wave.[4][5][6]
| Kisses | |
|---|---|
| Japanese name | |
| Kanji | くちづけ |
| Directed by | Yasuzō Masumura |
| Written by |
|
| Produced by | Hidemasa Nagata |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Jōji Ohara |
| Edited by | Tatsuji Nakashizuka |
| Music by | Tetsuo Tsukahara |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 74 minutes[1][2] |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
Plot
editKinichi and Akiko meet at a prison in Tokyo, where their fathers are detained. Taking a liking to each other, they spend the day together, driving around on a borrowed motorcycle. Unable to pay both the bail bond for her father and her mother's hospital bill, Akiko gives in to the persistent courting of Osawa, asking him to loan her the needed money in return.
Cast
edit- Hiroshi Kawaguchi as Kinichi Miyamoto
- Hitomi Nozoe as Akiko Shirakawa
- Eitarō Ozawa as Daikichi Miyamoto, Kinichi's father
- Aiko Mimasu as Yoshiko Uno, Kinichi's mother
- Sachiko Murase as Kiyoko Shirakawa, Akiko's mother
- Ken Wakamatsu as Osawa
- Kanshō Yoshii as Osawa's father
Release
editKisses was released in Japan on 21 July 1957.[1][2] It was first shown in New York as part of a Masumura retrospective on 18 April 1997.[7]
In more recent years, it has been shown at film museums such as the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive in 1997,[8] the Cinémathèque Française in 2007,[9] and the Austrian Film Museum in 2008.[5]
Reception
editAfter the film's initial release, critic (and future director) Nagisa Ōshima, admiring it for its mobile camera and amoral plot,[10] noted that "a powerful irresistible force has arrived in Japanese Cinema."[3]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "くちづけ". Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese). Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ a b c d "くちづけ(1957)". Kinenote (in Japanese). Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ a b "Kisses". Independent Cinema Offices. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ a b "Kuchizuke". Japanisches Kulturinstitut (in German). Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ a b "Masumura Yasuzô". Österreichisches Filmmuseum (in German). 2008. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ Jackson, Earl (2020). "Fellini in Japan". In Burke, Frank; Waller, Marguerite; Gubareva, Marita (eds.). A Companion to Federico Fellini. John Wiley and Sons. p. 441. ISBN 9781119431534.
- ^ "Yasuzo Masumura Retrospective". Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.
- ^ "Kisses". BAMPFA. 22 December 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ "Les Baisers". Cinémathèque Française (in French). Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ Jacoby, Alexander (2008). A Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors: From the Silent Era to the Present Day. Stone Bridge Press. p. 163. ISBN 9781933330532.