rdoyle29 Natsuhisa and Haruji are brothers. Natsuhisa, the older brother, is a bit of a nihilist, devoting all his time to booze and women and hanging with his friends with similar pursuits. Haruji hangs around with his brother, but doesn't approve of his lifestyle. Haruji meets Eri and they date. Natsuhisa is awe struck that his brother has got such a stunning girl, and is determined to find out why. He finds out her secret, and blackmails her into starting a sexual relationship with him. A surprisingly bleak and raunchy film for 1950's Japan. The ending is quietly devastating.

funkyfry I really liked this movie, but I'm not going to make a huge amount of comments because I've just seen it for the first time so I don't have a lot of "insight" about it. Maybe later I will come and add more. Let me just say that right from the first shots of the movie it's pretty extraordinary, with that slow pan right into the main character's (Shintarô Ishihara) eyes. And I remember also in particular that scene where his brother (played by his real-life brother, Yûjirô Ishihara) first makes love to the married woman they are both in love with (Mie Kitahara), the literally "crazed" look in his eyes.Some have said this is the "Japanese 'Rebel Without a Cause'", but it's actually closer to "East of Eden" if anything. I wouldn't want to go too far with either of those comparisons though. There's a lot of depth to this movie. It deals with anti-American feelings in post-war Japan. For example, the brothers' best friend is played by Masumi Okada in the character of Hirosawa Frank, and there's a really striking scene where all of them are in a dance-hall and the steward apologizes for not giving him special service when he sees his face and realizes that he's half American. The woman they are in love with has married a much older American man. It's typical of the movie's subtlety and nuance that this older American is not portrayed in any kind of stereotypically negative way. His mere presence in the conjugal bed with this lovely young Japanese woman is enough to make a statement, even if he's the nicest guy in the world. There's a feeling that the culture is being co-opted by America, but even the ostensible "hero" of the film wears Hawaiian shirts. It's not an anti-American movie, it's about how a lot of the young people in Japan at that time didn't have a sense of direction or a sense of hope, and how America in some ways or American culture represented a false hope perhaps.I think the very ending was not quite as shocking or surprising as it seems to have been intended to be, but that would be my only minor complaint. The cinematography and direction are amazing here. The acting is very good as well.

Shimakaneda Having seen and enjoyed The Departed, and having seen No Country for Old Men and found it overrated, and who knows how many other recent films on similar themes, I was utterly delighted to have seen a screening of Crazed Fruit at a museum a few weeks ago. In terms of movies about revenge, Crazed Fruit is much more eloquent than any number of contemporary blockbusters. It probably doesn't say much in favor of my character to admit it (! nope !), but Crazed Fruit is the only film I can think of to have evoked a desire to stand up and cheer.Throughout the body of the film, I kept asking myself, "Okay, this is a little bit like a Japanese Rebel Without a Cause, which is great in itself, but where's the real craziness here (besides the fact that America had already influenced Japan by 1956 in ways that most American's were not aware of)?" The main characters might have had moral issues, but they were so darned *elegant* about it! Even though this (being spared from the usual stream of sanctimonious and in-immediate inner and narrative wrestling bouts of the conscience) was enough of a refreshing change from what I'd usually seen in the cinema, I still wanted to see something hardcore to justify the film's title, and I can say that the end of the film certainly did deliver on that score. No outrageous depictions of violence here, just a relentless and rather memorably nutty ending.I don't usually dare to write my own reviews on IMDb.com, but I couldn't contain myself this time. I really enjoyed Crazed Fruit. It was aesthetically appealing, it portrayed its characters as being dissatisfied in completely understandable ways (i.e., as being sympathetic), and I'm just really impressed with the way the film ended.Extra points for the weird musical score, which was a wild yet still somehow understated fusion of "La Dolce Vita"-type music and Hawiian-influenced ukulele and slide-guitar. A nice touch that added to rather than detracted from the story.Of course, times have changed drastically since this film was made. Part of what I enjoyed was temporarily returning to an era when problems were at least traceable to something gone wrong. It's a romantic film for sure.

CelluloidRehab I was curious about this movie when I first heard about it, but I was not sure what to expect. Thankfully this movie is a bag of chips, with dip and beer.The movie revolves around the exploits of well to do Japanese teenagers (possibly early 20's), in post WWII Japan. We mostly follow around two brothers, Natsuhisa and Haruji. They go off to the coast where they hang out with friends, water ski, swim, sail, drink, smoke, go clubbing, get into fights and play a game where they try to pick up as many women as possible. They don't have any responsibility and mostly just lie around, complaining about how there's nothing interesting to do. Just like in the Beatniks they are out looking for thrills.The conflict in the movie arises from Haruji (the younger brother). Out of the group, Haruji is the youngest and most naive. He meets a beautiful girl, Eri and brings her to one of their parties. She catches the eye of Haruji's older and more "experienced" brother, Natsuhisa. Thus the triangular conflict is set and ready to go.The movie is quite graphic, considering this movie was made in 1956. In the same way the Beatniks (and other similar period movies) depicted disenchanted and "sinful" teenagers in the US, Crazed Fruit does the same for Japan.The final scene of the movie is a classic, worthwhile and carnal. I highly recommend this movie.-Celluloid Rehab