Taiyô to bara (1956)

Taiyô to bara: Directed by Keisuke Kinoshita. With Akira Ishihama, Katsuo Nakamura, Sadako Sawamura, Yoshiko Kuga. A young man ignores his mother’s pleas and becomes drawn to a life of crime.

“A young Japanese man, living with his mother and two sisters, falls into an aimless existence, unable to find a future for himself alone but unable also to throw off entirely his sense of obligation to society and family. He is a deeply unhappy person who comes under the influence of a wealthier and much more malign, possibly sociopathic young delinquent.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAfter seeing Kinoshitau0026#39;s u0026quot;Twenty Four Eyesu0026quot;, I appreciated the much tauter pace of u0026quot;The Rose on His Arm.u0026quot; In fact, the editing was so tight and the story telling so minimal that there were times when it seemed a little under-told. The cinematography was good, the jazz score excellent. I find Japanese acting in these earlier films to be u0026quot;melodramaticu0026quot;—but recognise that there are cultural elements at play here.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWatching a film like this, you realise that there are some issues that are trans-cultural, but that they also play out in a very culturally defined way. Watching this movie alongside Rebel Without A Cause is quite eye-opening. The parents all but disappear in RWAC, but here the relationship between the young man and his mother is the cornerstone of the movie.”