Cruel Story of Youth (Nagisa Oshima, 1960)

Fast, sweaty, and mean like its protagonists, Cruel Story of Youth is a slick, fun ride following a pair of doomed lovers during the course of their short and seedy affair.

When a local hood rescues a young woman from a lecherous old man only to later rape her, and the young woman proceeds to fall in love with him and become his partner in crime, you know you’re not in for a traditional love story This is, after all, an Oshima film. We follow the pair's exploits, from bar fights to stick-up's, from the abortion clinic to jail and beyond, until they reach their inevitably bloody demise (and what a demise it is).

The film bears little resemblance to Night and Fog in Japana film made in the same year (Oshima was never one to repeat himself, varying his style from film to film, sometimes going so far as to switch up aspect ratios). Whereas that film was calculated and deliberately paced, favoring long takes and involved flashbacks, Youth, like the French New Wave films to which it is so often compared, is stylish, colorful, and pulpy. With its quick cuts, scrappy violence, and rockabilly music, every frame bursts with youthful energy. It's instantly easier to understand than Fog.

Ultimately, it's an easier film to enjoy, too. [B+]