Nanami: The Inferno of First Love (1968)

  'Nanami: The Inferno of First Love' (Hatsuki: Jigoku-hen) is a 1968 Japanese New Wave film directed by Susumu Hani and co-scripted with Shuji Terayama.

  Its a simple story of boy (Shun) meets girl (Nanami). Boy's was sexually abused by his father, girl's a nude model. Living in Tokyo, they decide to have sex in a hotel room. It's Shun's first time, and due to nerves, they agree to get to know each other before trying again. They both begin to discuss their pasts. They tell us how Nanami entered the city, and due to entrance exams, was forced to become a model, and how Shun's father died and his mother abandoned him, he became friends with a 5 year old girl and was misinterpreted as touching her in a graveyard.

  It doesn't sound the greatest of stories, but keep in mind this is a Japanese New Wave film, where film-makers went crazy with their cameras and purposely tried to tackle difficult subjects with a sledgehammer. Not only is this the craziest Japanese New Wave film that I've seen, it's also the one with the most boobs. This film is shot in grainy black and white, on and off the streets of Tokyo with a Terayama style of film-making. This whole type of film-making has been completely forgotten by cinema, so I would recommend discovering it.

  The themes this film deals with includes, incest, adoption, nudity, and the many troubles of post-adolescence. In a cruel society, where tradition is the norm, the youth are left to rebel. Filming partially on the streets, you see the reaction to mostly elderly strangers, of surprise and disgust. However when there is a naked man blocking their way to work, I don't blame them for being a bit pissed.

  This film is provocative, shocking and by no way an easy watch. During the erotic nudity scenes we, the audience, look on as a voyeur like the desperate Tokyo business men photographing the models. There are many, many boobs, in fact if there was a boobometer, this film would surely top it. It's not a bad thing, but I can't exactly say it's a good thing without sounding like a pervert.

  So how do I summarise the film? I don't actually know. I'm not disgusted, and the film is well-made, but I'm not sure if I liked it or not. I guess I did. I think...

TO CONCLUDE
The crazy, edgy, thought-provoking film-making which I admire. Very similar to 'Throw Away Your Books and Rally in the Streets'.

SCORE
80