Kuchizuke

Absolutely wonderful. It's first half is, in its own way, breathtaking, a whirlwind of romance, so fun, fresh, bursting with energy and life and leaving me smiling for pretty much every moment, of course taking brief breaks to swoon. The second half never quite reaches those glorious elated highs of the first, though is still excellent playing out exactly like you think it will but doing it with such keenness and romanticism that I couldn't resist.

Star Rating: ★★★★★

Sweet film with an Italian Neorealism style, enjoyable if not world-shattering.

"There must have been a strain of corruption in Japanese politics at the time." http://illusionpodcast.blogspot.com/2015/06/episode-61-new-j-wave-part-one-here.html

Inarguable strengths include Jôji Ohara's cinematography and Hitomi Nozoe's kittenish charm. The script is a mixed bag. As some have noted, the setup works a little better than the climax. There's always a lovable quirkiness to Masumura's touch, even when the writers aren't great.