Hatsukoi (2006)

Hatsukoi: Directed by Yukinari Hanawa. With Aoi Miyazaki, Keisuke Koide, Masaru Miyazaki, Rena Komine. Writer Misuzu Nakahara confesses her involvement in the 300 Million Yen Affair. In the chaotic days of the 1960s, Misuzu, a lonely high school girl from a troubled family, finds a sanctuary with her nihilistic brother Ryo and his friends, who pass day by day hanging around a shadowy café bar and indulging themselves in sex, drugs and alcohol. As the social unrest seeps in and their relationships gradually fall off, Misuzu gets drawn into a dangerous plot against the society set by one of the rebellious boys, Kishi – robbing a bank car of 300 million yen. The two accomplices set out for numerous rehearsals, and their hearts get closer secretly and quietly. On one rainy day, helped by coincidences, the heist goes successful to give a huge impact on Japan, but it only brings Misuzu a great sense of loss and sadness she had never expected.

“The largest robbery in Japanu0026#39;s history was a decidedly humdrum affair. On December 10th 1968, a police motorbike intercepted a car transporting bonus money to the factories of Toshiba in Fuchu, Tokyo. Convincing the caru0026#39;s occupants that their vehicle had been rigged with explosives, the rider let them scarper and then pinched it, complete with the contents of its trunk: cases containing 300 million yen. Despite a massive investigation, police never apprehended the culprits, and the case was closed in 1975.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThat wouldnu0026#39;t be the end of it, though. Over 30 years later, a little-known writer going by the name of Misuzu Nakahara penned Hatsukoi, an autobiographical novel in which she claimed to be the mysterious rider. At the time of the robbery, she was only a high school student.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eItu0026#39;s a ripe topic for filming, and Yukinari Hanawau0026#39;s picture seems to have a lot stacked in its favor: a decent budget, evocative counter-culture settings and indie it-girl du jour Aoi Miyazaki in the title role. We follow Misuzu as, escaping a dismal home life, she starts hanging out with her brother and his mates at a scummy red light district jazz bar. There, sheu0026#39;s drawn to the intelligent, aloof Kishi (Keisuke Koide), who buries his nose in books as he harbors plans for a perfect heist.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ePlenty of dramatic potential here, then, but Hatsukoi is a curiously enervated piece of work, forever teetering on the brink between subtle and downright dull. Central to its problems is Miyazaki herself: her Misuzu is little more than a cipher, drifting impassively from one situation to the next. Weu0026#39;re left with a gaping hole where the heart of this film should be, and the support cast struggle to fill it.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eGiven that the veracity of the source novel is hotly disputed, too, it seems odd that Hanawa should choose to do such a straight reading. I found myself longing for the ambiguity of, say, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, where you were never quite sure if the protagonist was a covert operative or merely a crackpot.”