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The Boy Made in Japan

1995Movie1 h 45 min

68
GoodGoodWatch score

A profoundly sad, relentlessly bleak drama movie about everyday modern life and society.

Good for friends night · thought-provoking · adults

Skip it if you need an uplifting mood

Where to watch

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Not streaming in any country yet.

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Not for warmth, comfort or laughs.

Movies with

Story

Yamato Tanaka, who attempted to murder his father in the past, used to work as a janitor in a theme park. Now unemployed, Yamato lives in a very humble apartment room. He lost his family by the crime he committed with the urge he himself couldn’t and even now can explain. He has nowhere to go, and becomes isolated in the big city. His continuous job search is unsuccessful, and one day he meets a young girl Kaoru who is passing out advertisement packaged with free tissue to the crowd at a train station. He aggressively gets involved with her. The two immediately feel the mutual isolation and desperation within themselves. These are youngsters with no purpose in their lives, symbolizing the Japanese society which passed the post-war economic peak period. Yamato and Kaoru go down the road of destruction, being sucked into the deep, dark ditch of society. Filling the screen images both stark and surreal, director Ataru Oikawa draws an unadulterated portrait of youth.

Feels like

  • Japanese Social Realism
  • Youthful Desperation
  • Urban Isolation
  • Crime & Alienation
  • Bleak Societal Critique
  • Psychological Drama
  • Character Study
  • Slow-Paced & Stark
  • Post-Economic Peak

Cast

Crew

Directed by
Ataru Oikawa
Written by
Ataru Oikawa
Produced by
Etsuko Kanno

Everyone

Pick a department, or search for a name or a job (“editor”, “stunt”).

Facts

December 2, 1995 · 1 h 45 min · Violence

Released
December 2, 1995
Runtime
1 h 45 min
Content
Violence
Genres
Drama
Original language
Japanese
Made in
Japan

Q&A

4 questions, like "Is The Boy Made in Japan worth watching?"

Questions about The Boy Made in Japan

Quick answers from GoodWatch data.

Is The Boy Made in Japan worth watching?

68
GoodGoodWatch score

Mostly, it's well received, with a GoodWatch score of 68 (IMDb 6.6).

Will I feel good after watching The Boy Made in Japan?

BleakHopeful

Probably not: the title analysis rates it 9 of 10 for bleakness and 9 for melancholy, against 2 for hopefulness.

Is The Boy Made in Japan plot-driven or character-driven?

CharactersPlot

Mostly character-driven: it leans on character depth (8 of 10) and pathos (8 of 10) more than on its plot.

Is The Boy Made in Japan in English?

Japanese

No, it was made in Japanese.