A great and wise director (whom shall remain nameless) once remarked A movie is dangerous if only for the mood it may evoke, and the choice of when to see a movie is just as important as the movie you choose to see. IF YOU WERE YOUNG, is the kind of movie that will definitely change your mood, no matter the mood you were in prior to viewing it. Fukusaku Kinji, the director of this wonderful lesson, has remarked that during the time of this film the Japanese Social System was concerned with encouraging the youth of the country to try and find a way for themselves, to NOT be so easily discouraged by failure and that failure in reality is a path to starting again. Fukusaku not only explores the potential possessed by youth but he also wades through the delicate subject of the criminal nature that exists in us all.<br /><br />What starts out as a GROUP of friends eventually BOILS (literally) down to ONE. Only one friend remains standing at the end of this film and his remark to himself is that HE TOO WILL START OVER because after all there is always hope. Perhaps in a cheeky kind of way Mr. Fukusaku was being cynical in his portrayal of youth in this film.<br /><br />For example: after spending a night in Jail the young men of youth are released, bounding with energy and full of Hope deciding to pool their monies to buy a truck. HERE Fukusaku shows us that JAIL for wayward youth can be a wonderful opportunity for self discovery. I doubt many youth would find that to be the case, Nevertheless this is where the story begins...EVENTUALLY each youth is lost---victims of crime, circumstance or missed opportunity after each of which Mr. Fukusaku would have us believe that underneath disappointment lies opportunity. Cynical? Perhaps. YET Fukusaku also shows us that YOUTH by it's very nature is NOT a time to RAGE (most likely because of how simple it is for disaster to strike) BUT a time for introspection, a time to TRY and challenge oneself--- to be something one may not believe one can be. Quite simply... there is always hope.<br /><br />RAGE is a subtle bittersweet film. To be watched on an early rainy afternoon with the lights out and the curtains open. A film that is both cynical and optimistic. Perhaps in his end, Fukusaku Kinji realized, like that great director who lectured on whispers in film language, that films in themselves ARE moods, slaves to the Genre they must obey. Sure there may be many who will never consider RAGE to be one of the great directors best but in my humble opinion it is easily the most enlightening picture in his masterful oeuvre.