a passerby, and when he refuses to let her out, she jumps out of the car to her death. Cast Yūsuke Kawazu as Kiyoshi Fujii Miyuki Kuwano as Makoto Shinjo Yoshiko Kuga as Makoto's elder sister Yuki Fumio Watanabe as Akimoto Shinji Tanaka as Yoshimi Ito, student Shinjiro Matsuzaki as Terada Toshiko Kobayashi as Teruko Shimonishi Production Ōshima, who was only 28 at the time, made extensive use of hand-held cameras and location shooting, and the results drew comparisons to the French nouvelle vague filmmakers emerging at around the same time; the film became one of the primary films in the Nūberu bāgu. The use of adolescent criminals as protagonists generated controversy at the time, though the film was also a commercial success, which helped to pave the way for the emergence of a young and adventurous generation of new Japanese filmmakers: in short order, Shohei Imamura, Masahiro Shinoda, Yasuzo Masumura, Susumu Hani, Hiroshi Teshigahara and others began to attract international attention. In this film, Ōshima was already beginning to explore the themes he would soon become celebrated for: a focus on youth and on 'outsiders', and critical deconstructions of more stereotypical imagery in Japanese cinema. Reception Vincent Canby of The New York Times complimented the colors and cinematography of the film, but was confused by its unexplained political and social references and felt the story was told too distantly, making it dim. Mary Evans of The Japan Times compared the film to a sociological study which, while mostly succeeding, failed when it moralized. She also found faults in the originality of the story, the violence of the ending, and the portrayal of the gangsters and Makoto, but called the film strong and praised Ōshima's "great feeling for his medium." James Hoberman of The Village Voice described the film as a "candy-colored extravaganza [that] is directed with considerable brio and filled with bold metaphors", but felt that certain aspects were dated such as "powerless men preying upon even weaker women" and its "absence of cynicism and even careerism." The film won the 1960 Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Newcomer for Ōshima. References Donald Richie. 100 Years Of Japanese Cinema, 2003, Kodansha. Joan Mellen. The Waves At Genji's Door: Japan Through Its Cinema, 1975, Pantheon. Tadao Sato. Currents In Japanese Cinema, 1982, Kodansha. External links 1960 films Films directed by Nagisa Ōshima 1960s Japanese-language films Shochiku films Juvenile delinquency in fiction