Nagisa no Shindobaddo (1995)

Nagisa no Shindobaddo: Directed by Ryosuke Hashiguchi. With Yoshinori Okada, Ayumi Hamasaki, Kouji Yamaguchi, Kumi Takada. The movie is built around the very complex relationships between Yoshida, leaving Shimizu for Aihara (or at least he tries to), and his friend Ito, whose love for Yoshida seems to have little chance for success. In the end we have a coalition of Ito and Aihara – who may or may not be in love with Ito – teaching Yoshida a lesson.

“I think this movie is underrated. To me it felt like a gulp of fresh air. Some people complain about the implausibility of the plot, overlong sequences and lack of sex (the latter being, I believe, the main reason for u0026quot;implausibilityu0026quot;; and how come there are no drunken teenagers talking dirty?!); but itu0026#39;s just not their thing, and good for them if they canu0026#39;t relate to the story. The performances are great; Iu0026#39;d really like to see more of the actors in other movies. The emotions are genuine. The whole unrequited love thing is presented with uncanny subtlety. And it does give you the tingly feeling you expect to get from a good movie.”