The Youth Killer (1976)

Original title

青春の殺人者

Directed by

Kazuhiko Hasegawa

Genre

drama film, teen film

Country

Japan

Runtime

2h 01m

Rating

6.5 of 10 from 19 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A young man struggles with intense family pressures and commits a violent act. The film examines his isolation and the emotional fallout that follows.

bleaktensealienatingintimateharshslow-burnunsettling

What happens

The Youth Killer (Japanese: 青春の殺人者, Hepburn: Seishun no satsujinsha) is a 1976 Japanese crime drama film directed by Kazuhiko Hasegawa in his directorial debut, with a screenplay by Tsutomu Tamura. It is an adaptation of the short story Snakelust (Ja'in) by Kenji Nakagami, which itself was based on a real life patricide that occurred in Ichihara. The film's story is a study of alienation focusing on a young killer, starring Yutaka Mizutani in the lead role, in addition to Mieko Harada, Etsuko Ichihara, Ryōhei Uchida and Kazuko Shirakawa. Shinji Sōmai was an assistant director on the production (under the pseudonym Jiro Sugita), while Shōhei Imamura was the film's co-producer and Hideyuki Hirayama served as a production manager. Mickie Yoshino and Japanese rock band Godiego composed the film's soundtrack. The Youth Killer was theatrically released by Art Theatre Guild on October 23, 1976, in Japan, where it was critically acclaimed, winning five categories at the Kinema Junpo Best Ten Awards including Best Film. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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