If You Were Young: Rage

Director Kinji Fukasaku takes a look at postwar Japan with his film that monitors the lives of five buoyant youngsters who have their sights set on a better life after setting foot in Tokyo. Unfortunately, their bubbles are quick to burst when they discover that life in the bustling city is hardly as promising as they'd imagined.

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» Queued up by 5 people

Ali M rorqualmaru imd 1231639 kwb 530385 usn 1292006

» Reviewed by 1 person

With If You Were Young, you can see the roots that eventually led to Battle Royale. Both stories feature young people trying to overcome a system that is oppressive and hopeless. This film is about a group of under-educated 20 somethings who concoct a plan to buy their own dump-truck. By doing so, they can gain independence and free themselves from the petty crimes and terrible jobs that make up their irredeemable lives. The premise is alright but the over-acting and overly-dramatic way in which it was filmed prove the inexperience of its filmmaker. If You Were Young is not Fukasaku's best early work. But, if you're curious to see the progression on a topic by a filmmaker from his early days until one of his last films, this film would make a nice preamble to Battle Royale.
- pterosaur