Youth Rebellion in Japanese Cinema

Youth Rebellion is a universally relatable concept that teenagers and adolescents throughout the world experience. While varied in how it manifests across countries and time periods, rebellion is a rite of passage in both the United States and Japan.

In partnership with Lightbox Film Center, Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia presents Youth Rebellion in Japanese Cinema, a curated series of six films exploring the topic of youth rebellion across six decades of Japanese cinema, from immediate postwar Japan to the early 2000s “Cool Japan” era.

Crazed Fruit, Kô Nakahira, Japan, 1956.

All films in this series will be presented at Lightbox Film Center at University of the Arts from April 19–27, 2024 — just one of the many scheduled programs of the 2024 Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival.

April 19–27, 2024
Lightbox Film Center
401 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA / Google Maps ❯❯

$10 General Admission • $8 Students/Seniors • FREE for JASGP Members

All films will be screened in Japanese with English subtitles.

Program Schedule and Tickets

Friday, April 19, 2024
7:00pm
 
Crazed Fruit

Two brothers compete for the amorous favors of a young woman during a seaside summer of gambling, boating, and drinking, in this seminal Sun Tribe (taiyozoku) film from director Kô Nakahira. Adapted from the controversial novel by Shintarô Ishihara, and critically savaged for its lurid portrayal of the postwar sexual revolution among Japan’s young and privileged, Crazed Fruit is an anarchic outcry against tradition and the older generation. (Kô Nakahira, Japan, 1956, 86 min.)

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Saturday, April 20, 2024
2:00pm
 
Pigs & Battleships

In postwar, occupied Japan, Kinta (Hiroyuki Nagato) is a young hustler working for the local Yakuza crime boss. The gang is entering the pig farming business, and Kinta is put in charge of raising the pigs and promised a big bonus when they're sold. However, the police are cracking down on the Yakuza following a recent hit, and Kinta may be expected to take the fall. To make matters worse, Kinta's girlfriend has been sold off as a bride to an American, leaving even his personal life in flux. (Shohei Imamura, Japan, 1961, 108 min.)

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Wednesday, April 24, 2024
7:00pm
 
Crazy Thunder Road

When the leader of the once-notorious biker gang of Tokyo falls in love with a barmaid and quickly loses his rebellious ideals, the rest of the gang feels betrayed. Especially the reputedly troubled kid Ken, who revolts against his former friend. (Gakuryu Ishii, Japan, 1980, 97 min.)

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Thursday, April 25, 2024
7:00pm

Bounce Ko Gals

The film follows three Japanese schoolgirls in Tokyo escaping boredom in the streets of Shibuya. They confront their identities as young women in Japanese society, while dodging the yakuza in the lucrative and sometimes dangerous practice of "enjo kosai" or "date clubs." (Masato Harada, Japan, 1997, 110 min.)

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Friday, April 26, 2024
7:00pm

Kamikaze Girls

Momoko, a strange and seemingly emotionless girl obsessed with 18th century France, befriends a Yanki biker and the two experience the ups and downs of their unusual lives in a rural Japanese town. (Tetsuya Nakashima, Japan, 2004, 102 min.)

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Saturday, April 27, 2024
2:00pm

Box!

Timid honor student Yuki joins Ebisu High School's boxing club, aspiring to the raw power of his childhood friend Kabu, who's a bad boy boxing prodigy. Under the coach's guidance, Yuki gradually builds strength, moving one step closer to undefeated high school rookie Kabu. Fate leads the two friends to become rivals... Fighting until the end, for a friend. What lies ahead for Kabu and Yuki? (Toshio Lee, Japan, 2010, 126 min.)

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this program was provided by The Japan Foundation, New York and is presented in partnership by the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia and Lightbox Film Center.