Shôjo

Well, I suppose that this 2001 movie titled "An Adolescent" (aka "Shôjo") sort of could be said to be a Japanese version of the classic Kubrick movie "Lolita", except that "An Adolescent" is a bit more visual - in a semi-sleazy way. Well, of course that depends on your preference in movies of course, but all the sex scenes in this 2001 movie from director Eiji Okuda just made the movie feel tacky and sleazy to me.

And the storyline told in "An Adolescent" wasn't just overly interesting or well-paced and I must admit that I lost interest in the movie several times throughout the course of its playing time and ended up perusing social media on my phone as the movie trotted on.

The acting performances in the movie were stale, rigid and wooden, and that ultimately lead to a less than mediocre movie experience. It felt like people weren't even really putting any effort into bringing their designated characters and roles to life on the screen. So you could just as well have been watching a puppet theater show.

And if the actors and actresses had put more effort, spirit and heart into their performances, the story might have turned out to be more watchable and enjoyable.

While I managed to endure the movie and sit through it, this is not a movie that brought me any enjoyment or entertainment. And it most certainly is not a movie that I will be returning to watch for a second time.

My rating of "An Adolescent" lands on a mere three out of ten stars. This movie was a snoozefest.

i rented this in japan at tsutaya - only because it had English subtitles. i had no idea what it was about or if it would be any good - i think that made me like it more. at first i was a little put off by a love story between a 40 year old man and a 15 year old girl, but the character development was outstanding. i felt that all the characters and relationships between them were very well thought out. by the end i had no problems with it. it was also a little longer than i'd expected, but only had about three minutes on the end that i thought was unnecessary. some of the cinematography seemed a little cliché, but as i got into the story it didn't bother me at all. overall, i'd say this is one of the best movies i've seen lately. it was very original and well made.

The guy who directed this film is Sakura Ando's father. He directed Sakura's nude scene in her feature film debut, Out of the Wind (Kaze no sotogawa (2007)). In show-biz families that may be a non-event, or even a bold and smart thing to do. It's a little creepy to me. He directs and stars in this film about a 40-something cop and a fifteen year old girl who fall in love. It got "good press" when it ran the festival circuit for the great lengths it went to in trying not to be creepy: make the girl tough, smart, the aggressor. Yeah, poor cop, what's he supposed to do?

I applaud the convoluted script which allows for this kind of synopsis (from here on IMDb):

"Tomokawa is a tough guy turned bored cop who spends much of his time sating lonely housewives and looking after retarded teen Sukemasa. One day while hanging out at a bar, he is approached by a 15-year-old enjo kosai named Yoko, offering a round of illicit sex in exchange for cash. Though he demurs, their paths cross again and soon a relationship of sorts forms. Yoko, it turns out, is Sukemasa's sister; and both are the children of his old flame Yukie, a grasping, self-centered woman. Moreover, Yoko's grandfather is responsible for the massive tattoo sprawling across Tomokawa's back. Tomokawa soon takes both teens under his wing, protecting them from their heartless mother, and their lecherous stepfather. Soon, Yoko gets a similarly massive tattoo illustrating her bond with her policeman savior."

It's all true. The savior cop demurred, and etc.... Tomokawa kidnaps runaway dogs and keeps them for a long time so that when he finally returns them to lonely housewives they are so grateful they have sex with him. That's in the script. But he's friends with a mentally-challenged teen. See how balanced he is? The cop and the girl are both so far out there misunderstood-with-baggage they were destined for one another.

Lolita films are nothing new and this might be a good one as far as they go. It's restrained, not too graphic; there's interesting photography and directorial choices made; May Ozawa (~20) is "daring" and "courageous" --festival-speak for 'does nude scenes'-- as the young girl; the script is well-contrived; there's spiritualism and character development. Great lengths.

Watching Eiji Okuda direct himself and show his butt as irresistible to a fifteen year old girl was never going to work for me. YMMV.