[From February Issue 2011]
Always: Sunset on Third Street (Directed by YAMAZAKI Takashi)
This movie is set in the middle of Tokyo in 1958 (33rd year of the Showa era) when Japan was in the midst of its rapid economic growth. It was the age when the despairs of war had finally worn off and society began to shift toward convenience. The film portrays the common people who supported each other as they strived to live each day with hopes and dreams for a happy future. This motion picture won many awards including the Picture of the Year and Director of the Year awards for the 2006 Japan Academy Prize. Later, in 2007, the sequel was also produced.
The construction of the Tokyo Tower is underway amid the nation’s ambition for it to become the world’s tallest. People and products are abundant here in downtown Tokyo where, located on one of its street corners, is “Suzuki Auto.” Mutsuko, who came to the big city following the promise of mass employment, is disappointed that her place of work is such a small automobile repair shop. However, while working as a live-in employee, she gradually discovers that the owner, his wife, and their son Ippei, are all very touching people, and her mood starts to change.
Across the street from “Suzuki Auto,” CHAGAWA Ryunosuke, who dreams of becoming a novelist, runs a candy shop while also writing stories for boys’ magazine. One night, Hiromi, the mysterious and beautiful local bar owner, asks Chagawa to “look after an acquaintance’s boy.” He agrees to watch the boy named Junnosuke just because this beautiful woman has sweetly promised to “come to check on him sometimes.”
Although still struggling, Chagawa grows happier inside as he spends more and more time with both Hiromi and Junnosuke. He even borrows some money from Suzuki to buy Junnosuke a Christmas present. Then he asks for Hiromi’s hand in marriage. But his happiness does not last long as Hiromi suddenly closes the shop and disappears. Soon after, some company president arrives declaring to be Junnosuke’s real father, and claims guardianship of his illegitimate child.
“He is a wealthy man. He’ll buy you anything. I’m so glad I’ll finally get rid of you, you’re such a serious pain in the neck,” Chagawa says with false bravado to Junnosuke, who silently climbs into his father’s car. Chagawa, realizing just how important a part of his life Junnosuke has become, rushes after the fast moving car, but tumbles down. But Junnosuke soon returns and they embrace each other tightly as tears stream down both their faces.
Hiromi, who has returned to work as a dancer to pay off her debt, is waiting on the rooftop of the theater to appear on stage. She holds up her hand against the glare of the setting sun, imagining the ring Chagawa promised her he would someday buy. The Suzuki family drops off Mutsuko at the train station where she will travel to meet her family for the New Year’s celebration. On their way home, the Suzuki family stops by the riverbank to admire the sunset. “The sunset will always be beautiful; even tomorrow, and the day after, and even 50 years from now,” Ippei says to his parents, who agree. The sunset softly washes over the family, with the freshly completed Tokyo Tower in the background, as the film comes to an end.
[2011年2月号掲載記事]
ALWAYS 三丁目の夕日（山崎貴 監督）
高度経済成長期にあった昭和33年（1958年）の東京が舞台。戦争が終わり、世の中が便利になるなかで、将来に夢や希望をもち、お互いが助け合って暮らしていた当時の人々の日常が描かれている。2006年の日本アカデミー賞では、最優秀作品賞や最優秀監督賞などを受賞し、2007年には続編も製作された。
世界一の高さを目指し、東京タワーの建設が進んでいる。人やものがあふれ活気づく東京の下町に「鈴木オート」がある。そこへ、田舎から集団就職で六子がやってくる。就職先が小さな自動車修理工場だと知って初めは落ち込むが、住み込みで働くうち、社長やその妻、彼らの息子、一平といった鈴木家の人々の情に触れ、元気を取り戻す。
鈴木オートの向かいには、少年向け雑誌に原稿を書きながら小説家を志す茶川竜之介が駄菓子屋を営んでいる。茶川はある晩、居酒屋を経営するなぞの美女、ヒロミから「知り合いの子をしばらく預かってほしい」と頼まれる。「時々、様子を見に行く」という彼女の甘い言葉に押され、彼は淳之介と名乗るその少年を引き取る。
ヒロミや淳之介と出逢い、茶川は貧しいながらも幸せを感じる。鈴木社長に借金をして淳之介にクリスマスプレゼントを贈る。親しくなったヒロミにはプロポーズをする。だが、そんな生活も一変する。ヒロミが突然、居酒屋を閉め姿を消す一方で、淳之介の父親を名乗る会社社長が現れ、愛人との間にできた淳之介を引き取りたいと申し出る。
「お金持ちの家だぞ。何でも買ってもらえるぞ。俺もやっかいごとが減って大助かりだよ」と強がり、茶川は淳之介を追い出す。淳之介は父親の車に無言で乗り込む。すぐに淳之介の大切さに気づいた茶川は、走り去る車を慌てて追うが、転んでしまう。そこへ淳之介が戻ってくる。二人は涙で顔をぬらして抱き合う。
借金を返すため、踊り子に戻っていたヒロミは劇場の屋上で出番を待っている。夕日に手をかざし、茶川がいつか買ってあげると約束した指輪を想像する。鈴木家は、年明けを実家で過ごす六子を駅まで送った帰り、川原で夕日に見とれる。「明日だって、明後日だって、50年先だって、ずっと夕日はきれいだよ」と言う一平に、両親は賛同する。夕日が彼ら親子と完成したばかりの東京タワーを優しく照らし、映画は幕を閉じる。
[From January Issue 2011]
Dragon Ball: The Path to Power (Directed by YAMAUCHI Shigeyasu)
Originally created by TORIYAMA Akira, Dragon Ball is an adventure-story manga that ran in a weekly manga magazine for nearly a decade, starting in 1984. In 1986, Dragon Ball was adapted as an animated TV series, as well as into film. This work was the 17th and final film in the series and released in 1996. In 2009, a Hollywood live-action version was also made.
Son Goku is a boy with a monkey tail who lives deep in the mountains. His grandfather, Son Gohan, taught him kung fu, giving Goku superhuman skills with matching powers. The story opens with Goku living alone after his grandfather has passed away. He continues to lovingly treasure the orange ball his grandfather left him. Then one day, he is visited by a girl calling herself Bulma.
Bulma is seeking the seven orange balls, called “Dragon Balls,” of which she already has two. Goku’s ball is one of them and she explains to him that “when you collect all seven of the Dragon Balls and chant a spell, Shen Long (the Eternal Dragon) appears to grant you a wish, but only one.” Goku refuses to give up his Dragon Ball, but agrees to accompany Bulma on her quest as a part of his training.
Using Bulma’s “Dragon Radar” the two search for the remaining Dragon Balls. Soon after, Oolong, a pig with the power to transform into other animals and objects but only for five minutes, joins their troupe. The threesome fight various enemies including Yamcha the kung-fu bandit and his accomplice Puar, and the notorious Red Ribbon Army. Goku uses his “Nyoi Bou” red fighting stick and his kung fu skills to defeat the barrage of enemies.
When Goku and his team help a tortoise that was lost in the mountains, find its way back to the seashore, the turtle hermit Master Roshi, an elderly man who lives with the tortoise, appears in front of them. They learn that this hermit is Gohan’s kung fu master. And, to show his appreciation for them helping his turtle, he gives them the flying cloud “Kin-Ton-Un (Flying Nimbus).” Everyone tries, but only Goku succeeds in riding the flying cloud, something only the pure-hearted can do. Goku then also quickly masters the “Kamehameha” (the Turtle Devastation Wave), which took Master Roshi over 50 years to develop.
By now, Bulma has collected four of the seven Dragon Balls. But, during a battle, when Goku is knocked unconscious, the enemy seizes them all. Bulma and her friends are then taken hostage. After regaining consciousness, Goku tries to fight an army-controlled robot. But he is no match for it and is knocked unconscious again.
Soon after, Android #8, nicknamed “Eighter,” whose life Goku has saved before, comes flying to his side. Eighter sacrifices himself to save Goku. Regaining consciousness once again, Goku defeats the robot using the “Kamehameha.” They finally retrieve all the seven Dragon Balls and then Shen Long appears. Goku’s wish is to “bring Eighter back to life.” So Shen Long replies, “It shall be so,” as the movie comes to an end.
[2011年1月号掲載記事]
ドラゴンボール 最強への道（山内重保 監督）
原作は鳥山明が1984年からおよそ10年間、週刊漫画雑誌に連載していた冒険物語。1986年にはテレビアニメ化と同時に映画化も始まった。この作品は、1996年に公開された17本目の映画で、シリーズ最終作品にあたる。また、2009年にはハリウッドで実写映画化された。
ある山奥に、しっぽの生えた孫悟空という名の少年が住んでいる。悟空は祖父、孫悟飯からカンフーを教わり、人並み外れた力と技をもっている。すでに悟飯は亡くなり、悟空は一人で暮らしているところから物語は始まる。悟空は、祖父からさずけられたオレンジ色の球を大切にしている。そんな悟空のもとへ、ブルマと名乗る少女が現れる。
ブルマは「ドラゴンボール」というオレンジ色の球を7つ集めようとしており、すでに2つもっている。悟空のもっている球も実はドラゴンボールで、「7つのドラゴンボールを集めて呪文を唱えると、龍の神様『神龍』が現れて、どんな願いでもひとつだけかなえてくれる」とブルマは言う。悟空は球をゆずることは断るが、修業のために彼女の旅に同行する。
二人は、ブルマのもつ探知機を使いドラゴンボールを探す。やがて、5分間だけ他の動物や物に変身できるブタのウーロンが仲間に加わる。3人は行く先々で、カンフーの使い手であるヤムチャと子分のプーアル、悪名高いレッドリボン軍など、あらゆる敵とたたかう。悟空は「如意棒」と呼ぶ赤い棒と得意のカンフーで次々と敵を倒していく。
山で迷子になっていたウミガメを悟空たちが海に返すと、ウミガメと暮らす老人、亀仙人が現れる。亀仙人はかつて悟飯にカンフーを教えた先生だったことがわかる。ウミガメを助けてくれたお礼に、亀仙人は「筋斗雲」という雲を差し出す。清い心の持ち主だけが乗れると言われて試すと、悟空だけが成功する。また、亀仙人が50年かけて身に付けた技「かめはめ波」も、悟空はすぐに覚えてしまう。
ブルマは4つのドラゴンボールを手に入れる。だが、悟空が敵にやられ意識を失ったすきに、ブルマのドラゴンボールは奪われる。ブルマたちは人質に取られ、意識を取り戻した悟空は敵の操るロボットにたたかいをいどむ。しかし、ロボットにはかなわず、悟空は再び気を失う。
するとそこへ、悟空が以前に命を救った「ハッチャン」こと人造人間８号が飛んで来る。彼は自らの命を犠牲にして悟空を助ける。再び意識の戻った悟空はかめはめ波でついにロボットを倒す。敵のもつドラゴンボールと合わせ、ようやく７つの球が揃うと、神龍が現れる。悟空が「ハッチャンを元通りに直してくれ」と叫ぶと、神龍は「承知した」と答え、映画は終わる。
[From December Issue 2010]
La Maison de Himiko [House of Himiko] (Directed by INUDO Isshin)
Released in 2005, this film is something of a comedic-drama that’s set in a gay senior home. In it, director INUDO Isshin, who also oversaw the fairy tale, romantic film “Josee, the Tiger and the Fish,” depicts various forms of love, including homosexual, heterosexual, married and parent-child love. Wearing ugly makeup and sporting freckles, popular actress SHIBASAKI Kou plays the daughter who was abandoned by her gay father.
Saori (Shibasaki Kou) is a clerk at a paint company, who contemplates turning to sex-work in order to repay her debts, when a young man named KISHIMOTO Haruhiko (ODAGIRI Joe) pays her a visit. He claims to be her gay father’s (YOSHIDA Teruo, a.k.a. “Himiko”) lover. She learns that her father, who ditched his family long ago, is suffering from terminal cancer, but she show’s no sympathy stating that “Whether that man’s got cancer and it’s terminal, doesn’t matter to me.”
Haruhiko then asks Saori if she’s interested in a part-time job. He offers her 30,000 yen a day to help out every Sunday at La Maison de Himiko, the gay seniors home that Himiko, her father, established. Tempted by the money, she visits the seaside establishment. Upon her arrival, she is shocked to find several odd people, including an elderly man wearing a dress and heavy makeup, who talks like a woman.
Saori is bewildered by being reunited with her father and feels her hatred for him grow even stronger. She reveals to Himiko that she is his daughter, and how she had to borrow money from relatives to pay for her mother’s operation and hospital stay, who eventually died of cancer. When he calmly says that he didn’t know, she yells at him, “Of course not. You are a total stranger!”
Saori keeps working at the home every Sunday, gradually accepting the gay residents who first disgusted her. She teaches the movements of a female anime character to Ruby, who wants to learn them to please his granddaughter. Wearing a Chinese dress, she also dances with Yamazaki who enjoys wearing women’s clothes. Then, all of a sudden, a company president who supports the home is arrested for tax evasion, putting the home’s future in serious jeopardy.
Before long, Saori becomes attracted to Haruhiko. He kisses her, but she knows that she cannot have a normal, romantic relationship with a gay man. While her father continues to weaken daily, she eventually confronts him about whether or not he ever missed her, or if he has any regrets about leaving her mother. “I won’t forgive you for what you did to Mom,” she says while glaring at Himiko, who murmurs in return, “I love you.”
Soon after, Saori quarrels with Haruhiko and the residents over a separate matter and quits her job. Immediately following her departure, Himiko dies. Then, one winter day several months later, the paint company where she works is asked by the home to paint over some graffiti on its wall. Saori accompanies the workers to the home, where the remaining residents all greet her with smiles. The film ends with a final shot of the message “WE WANT TO SEE SAORI” shown across the wall.
[2010年12月号掲載記事]
メゾン· ド· ヒミコ（犬堂一心 監督）
ゲイのための老人ホームを舞台にしたコメディードラマとして、2005年に公開された。ファンタジックな恋を描いた『ジョゼと虎と魚たち』の監督、犬堂一心が、同性愛や異性愛、夫婦愛や親子愛などさまざまな愛を描き出す。人気女優の柴咲コウがそばかすなどで不細工なメイクをほどこし、ゲイの父親に捨てられた娘を演じている。
塗装会社の事務員、沙織（柴咲コウ）は借金を返すために風俗で稼ごうかと迷っている。そこへ、岸本春彦（オダギリジョー）と名乗る若い男が現れる。彼は、かつて沙織と母を捨てたゲイの父・吉田照雄、通称「卑弥呼」の恋人だという。父が末期がんだと知らされるが、沙織は「あんな男、がんだろうが末期だろうが関係ない」と突き放す。
すると春彦は、突然沙織にアルバイトの話を持ちかける。卑弥呼が建てたゲイ専用の老人ホーム「メゾン・ド・ヒミコ」で毎週日曜日、1日3万円の給料で雑用係をしないかと。高給にひかれ、沙織は海辺に建つホームを訪ねる。だが厚化粧にワンピース姿で女性らしい言葉を使う老人男性などを目にして、沙織はショックを受ける。
父との再会で、沙織は戸惑い、父への憎しみが増すのを感じる。沙織は、自分が卑弥呼の娘であることと、がんで死んだ母の入院費用や手術代を親戚から借りたことを、卑弥呼本人に告げる。「初耳だわ」と冷静に答える父に、沙織は「当たり前でしょ。あんたなんか赤の他人なんだから！」とどなりつける。
日曜日ごとにホームに通うようになった沙織は、大嫌いだったゲイたちに少しずつ心を開いていく。孫娘のために少女アニメのキャラクターの振り付けを覚えたいというルビーに指導し、女装趣味の山崎とは一緒にチャイナドレスを着て踊る。そんな中、ホームを援助していた社長が脱税容疑で逮捕され、ホームの運営が危なくなる。
やがて沙織は、春彦にひかれる。春彦からキスされるが、ゲイである春彦とは、普通の恋人関係にはなれなかった。日に日に弱っていく父に、ある日、沙織は娘に会えずに寂しかったことや母を捨てたことへの後悔はないのか、と問いつめる。「あんたのこと、ママのために許さない」とにらむ沙織に、卑弥呼は「あなたが好きよ」とつぶやく。
そんな矢先、あることで沙織は春彦やホームの人たちと口論になり、ホームでの仕事を辞めてしまう。その直後、卑弥呼は息をひきとる。数ヵ月後の冬のある日、沙織の勤める塗装会社に、壁の落書きを消してほしいと、ホームから依頼がくる。作業員たちに同行した沙織をホームの人たちは笑顔で迎え入れる。そして、壁に書かれた「サオリに会いたい」の文字が映され、映画は終わる。
[From November Issue 2010]
Maboroshi no Hikari [Phantasmic Light] (Directed by KORE-EDA Hirokazu)
This motion picture was adapted from the novel of the same title, written by MIYAMOTO Teru, about a wife who overcomes her husband’s devastating death. It is the first feature-length film for the director, KORE-EDA Hirokazu, and was released in 1995. It is also the film in which fashion magazine model, ESUMI Makiko, launched her acting career. The film has received various national and international awards, including the Golden Osella award at the Venice Film Festival.
The protagonist Yumiko (played by Esumi), grew up regretting her feelings of helplessness that started when she was 12 years old and her grandmother went missing. Yumiko eventually married Ikuo (played by ASANO Tadanobu) and gave birth to their son, Yuuichi, but remained traumatized by her childhood incident. One day, Ikuo unexpectedly commits suicide and Yumiko is left devastated, without the slightest clue as to why he did it.
Five years later, Yumiko gets remarried to Tamio (played by NAITO Takeshi), who was a widower and lives with his only daughter Tomoko and his elderly father (played by EMOTO Akira) in a small village on the Noto Peninsula along the coast of the Sea of Japan. Tolerating the harsh winter’s cold, this new family of five start their tranquil lives together as Yumiko gradually gets to know the locals. Then, six months later, she returns to her hometown to attend her younger brother’s wedding ceremony.
During her stay, Yumiko stops by the apartment that she once shared with Ikuo. As she strolls down memory lane, passing a familiar coffee shop and the factory where Ikuo worked, her feelings towards her lost husband begin to resurface as she dwells on the question of why he committed suicide. Yumiko eventually returns home unable to shrug off these depressing feelings.
Tamio sees how Yumiko feels. However, Yumiko leaves the house still emotionally confused. She wanders around, heading toward the seaside. Tamio comes to her side where Yumiko confesses that she “still does not know why Ikuo killed himself.” Tamio shares with her, “Fishermen are lured into the sea. They see a beautiful light on the horizon. Probably everyone has a moment like that.” When spring finally arrives, there is new laughter in Yumiko’s family, as the movie comes to an end.
The park at night, the rainy street, and the village in winter with low clouds all convey the darkness in Yumiko’s heart. There is not much dialogue, and there are hardly any close-ups of any of the characters. This is a quiet piece of work that illustrates the process a person goes through in reclaiming, over time, the desire to live, while also gradually overcoming the grief of losing someone close.
[2010年11月号掲載記事]
幻の光（是枝裕和 監督）
夫の死を通して、妻が悲しみから立ち直るまでを描いた宮本輝の同名小説が原作。1995年、是枝裕和監督が劇場用長篇映画デビュー作として映画化。ファッション誌のモデルだった江角マキコが女優に初挑戦した作品。ヴェネチア国際映画祭など、国内外で数々の賞を受けた。
主人公のゆみ子（江角マキコ）は、12歳のとき、自分が引き止められずに祖母が行方不明になったことを悔やんだまま大人になった。郁夫（浅野忠信）と結婚し、勇一を産んでもそれはトラウマになっている。そんなある日、郁夫が何の前ぶれもなく自らの命を絶ってしまう。その理由が分からないまま、ゆみ子は途方に暮れる。
5年後、ゆみ子は、妻に先立たれた民雄（内藤剛志）と再婚する。民雄は日本海に面した能登半島の小さな村に、ひとり娘の友子と年老いた父親（柄本明）とともに住んでいる。厳しい寒さに耐えながら、5人はおだやかな生活を始め、ゆみ子も村の人たちとの付き合いに慣れていく。そして半年後、ゆみ子は弟の結婚式に出るため里帰りする。
そのついでに、ゆみ子はかつて郁夫と住んだアパートに立ち寄る。喫茶店や郁夫の働いていた工場など、思い出の場所を歩くうち、次第に亡き夫への想いがよみがえる。なぜ郁夫は自殺したのか － ゆみ子は再びそのことを考え始める。沈んだ気持ちを抱えたまま、ゆみ子は帰宅する。
民雄はそんなゆみ子の変化に気づく。だが、気持ちの整理がつかないゆみ子は家を出てしまう。呆然と歩き、海岸にたどり着く。そこへ、民雄が来る。「なぜ郁夫が自殺してしまったのか、いまだにわからない」と打ち明けるゆみ子に、民雄はこう答える。「漁師は海に誘われるそうだ。沖の方にきれいな光が見えるんだって。誰にもそんな瞬間があるんじゃないのか」と。やがて春が訪れると、ゆみ子たち家族に笑いが戻り、そこで映画は終わる。
夜の公園、雨に濡れる町、雲におおわれた真冬の村など、全体を通して、ゆみ子の心の闇を表すかのように、画面には光が差さない。台詞も多くはなく、登場人物たちの表情がアップになることも少ない。身近な人の死に直面しても、時の流れに身をまかせながら少しずつ生きる希望を取り戻していく過程が描かれた静かな作品である。
[From October Issue 2010]
Galaxy Express 999 (Directed by RIN Taro)
This film is based on the science fiction, manga masterpiece written and drawn by artist MATSUMOTO Leiji. It was serialized in manga magazine format for about four years starting in 1977, and was later adapted for an animated television series, a musical and has appeared in many other forms. The film was released in 1979, and was followed by two other movies.
The story is set on a future Earth, where the hero, HOSHINO Tetsuro, is a boy whose mother is murdered while they travel to Megalopolis. From there, wealthy people become cyborgs, gaining immortality along with mechanical bodies. Some cyborgs hunt humans for fun. One day, Tetsuro tries to steal from a passenger a pass for the Galaxy Express 999, a train that travels between planets, but fails. While fleeing from the police, he is rescued by Maetel, a mysteriously beautiful woman who is the spitting image of his dead mother.
“I want to get a mechanical body and live an eternal life and travel in the Sea of Stars forever,” Tetsuro tells Maetel, adding that he will also kill Count Mecha, the character responsible for his mother’s murder. But in order to accomplish all this, he needs to board the 999 to the planet where mechanical bodies are given away for free. Maetel offers Testuro a pass for the 999 if he travels with her. And this is how their journey begins.
Their first stop is Titan where they are attacked by bandits who kidnap Maetel. Given a gun by an old lady, Tetsuro sets out for the bandits’ lair. Antares, the bandit leader, returns Maetel after he finds out that Tetsuro is a human like him. Learning of Testuro’s plan to fight Count Mecha, Antares advises him to, “Shoot before being shot. If you hesitate or flinch, you are done for.”
Emeraldas, a female pirate whom Tetsuro meets during his journey, informs him that Count Mecha’s Time Castle is located on the planet Heavy Melder. While wandering around planet, Tetsuro meets up with Tochiro, the only son of the lady who gave him the gun. But Tochiro soon dies, having been severely weakened by years of fighting. The villains then suddenly appear and attack Tetsuro. But fortunately he is saved by the pirate Captain Harlock, Tochiro’s best friend.
After Testuro sneaks into Time Castle, Antares comes to his rescue. Antares then sacrifices his own life to save Testuro, who eventually kills Count Mecha. However, Tetsuro soon realizes that happiness is not just about living forever, and that one can work hard and be considerate and kind to others only when life is finite. With that in mind, he is determined to destroy planet Andromeda, where mechanical people are created.
Finally, Tetsuro and Maetel arrive on Andromeda where he learns that it is ruled by her mother. Tetsuro feels betrayed by Maetel, who cannot forgive her. With the help of Emeraldas and Harlock, they all destroy the planet and return to the Earth on the 999. Tetsuro bids farewell to Maetel, who sets out on another journey.
[2010年10月号掲載記事]
銀河鉄道999（りんたろう監督）
原作は、漫画家、松本零士の代表的なSF漫画として知られている。1977年から4年ほど漫画雑誌で連載され、テレビアニメやミュージカルなどジャンルを問わず取り上げられてきた。この映画は1979年に公開され、その後も続編が2本上映された。
近未来の地球が舞台。主人公は、メガロポリスに向かう途中に母を殺された少年、星野鉄郎。金持ちは機械の体とともに永遠の命を手に入れて機械人間になり、なかには貧しい人間を遊び半分に殺す者もいた。ある日鉄郎は宇宙の惑星を行き来する 999 号の定期券を乗客から盗もうとするが失敗する。警察に追われる鉄郎は、死んだ母そっくりな謎の美女メーテルに救われる。
鉄郎はメーテルに「機械の体になって永遠に生きて、永遠に星の海を旅したい」と語る。そして母を殺した機械伯爵をこの手で殺すのだ、とも。しかし、そのためには、999号に乗ってただで機械の体をくれるという星に行かねばならない。メーテルは、自分と一緒に旅をするのならただで定期券をあげると鉄郎に提案する。こうして二人の旅が始まる。
最初の停車駅はタイタン。二人は山賊におそわれ、メーテルはさらわれる。鉄郎はある老女から銃をもらい山賊のアジトに向かう。山賊のボス、アンタレスは、鉄郎が自分と同じ生身の人間だとわかるとメーテルを返す。さらに、鉄郎が機械伯爵と戦う計画を知り「撃たれる前に撃て。たじろいだり、ひるんだりしたら、お前の負けだ」と忠告する。
鉄郎は、機械伯爵が住む時間城がヘビーメルダーという惑星にあると、旅の途中で知り合った女海賊エメラルダスに教えられる。惑星をさまよううち、鉄郎は銃をくれた老女のひとり息子トチローと出会うが、長年の戦いで傷ついたトチローは間もなく死んでしまう。そこへ悪者が現れ鉄郎をおそう。運良く、鉄郎はトチローの親友、海賊キャプテン・ハーロックに救われる。
時間城にもぐり込んだ鉄郎のもとにアンタレスが駆けつける。アンタレスは自分の命を投げ出して鉄郎を助け、鉄郎は伯爵を殺す。だが、鉄郎は「永遠に生きることだけが幸せじゃない。限りある命だから、人は精一杯がんばるし、思いやりや優しさがそこに生まれる」と気づき、機械人間を作っている星「アンドロメダ」を破壊することを決意する。
こうして鉄郎はメーテルとともにアンドロメダに到着する。しかし、そこを支配するのはメーテルの母だった。鉄郎はメーテルに裏切られた気持ちになるが、メーテルも母を許せずにいた。エメラルダスやハーロックの力も借り、鉄郎とメーテルは惑星を破壊し、999号で地球に戻る。そして再び旅立つメーテルを鉄郎は見送るのだった。
[From September Issue 2010]
Dear Doctor (Directed by NISHIKAWA Miwa)
This motion picture was released in June 2009. It is the third feature-length film by director NISHIKAWA Miwa. She also wrote the script which won the Japan Academy Prize for Best Screenplay. SHOFUKUTEI Tsurubei who is a rakugo-ka (comic storyteller) and a popular TV personality, played the doctor, his first-ever leading role in a movie.
The story is set in a mountain village where over half of the population is elderly. It begins when Dr. INO Osamu (played by Tsurubei), the only resident doctor at the only village clinic, suddenly disappears, and the villagers start to panic. As two detectives start investigating, some of Ino’s past is gradually revealed.
Three and a half years ago, after a chance meeting with the village mayor, Ino was asked to become their resident doctor. He was very diligent in giving the villagers medical care, and along with OHTAKE, the veteran nurse, they even made house calls to conduct medical check ups. The villagers learned to respect him more than “God and Buddha.” Soon after, SOMA, an intern fresh out of a Tokyo medical school, arrived at the village. Soma also learned to appreciate the diligence and kindness Dr. Ino puts into his work and that all the villagers enjoy.
One day, the widower TORIKAI Kazuko collapses. Dr. Ino and his staff rush to her aid after receiving the emergency call, but she insists that there is nothing wrong with her. Concerned, Dr. Ino revisits her again that night. Kazuko pleads with him, “Doctor, please lie with me,” as she wishes to avoid burdening her daughters, who have their own lives to lead. She even insists that her condition be kept secret from one of her daughters, herself a Tokyo-based doctor.
Dr. Ino concedes to Kazuko saying “very well, as you wish,” but in return he makes her promise to take a gastroscopy test. Although he told her that she suffers from a stomach ulcer, he is concerned that she might have cancer, and so requests without telling her, a closer examination at a specialized institution. Her results reveal that she has terminal cancer. However, the doctor, not wanting to depress her, keeps the truth to himself. Then he calls upon his regular pharmaceutical salesman to take the same test, and switches the results.
Kazuko’s three daughters then visit her for the first time in quite a while. Ritsuko, the doctor, realizes that her mother is taking pills and decides to visit the clinic. Ritsuko bombards Dr. Ino with questions as they look at her mother’s swapped gastric photos, and finally accepts the situation. After Ritsuko tells Dr. Ino that she’ll visit her mother again in one year, he suddenly jumps on his motorcycle and disappears.
Despite their intense investigation, the police fail to locate Dr. Ino’s whereabouts. They soon find out that Dr. Ino had no medical license, after which the villagers’ concern quickly turns to accusation. Later, Kazuko is admitted into the hospital where Ritsuko works. There, a man wearing a white cap and a mask and serving tea to patients comes to her hospital room. Ino’s familiar and friendly smiling eyes make Kazuko’s face light up, as the movie comes to a close.
[2010年9月号掲載記事]
ディア· ドクター（西川美和監督）
2009年6月に公開された作品。長篇映画三作目となる西川美和が監督を務めた。西川は脚本も手がけ、日本アカデミー賞の最優秀脚本賞を受賞した。落語家でありテレビタレントとしても人気の笑福亭鶴瓶が医師役で映画初主演を果たした。
高齢者が人口の半分以上という山あいの村が舞台。村でただひとつの診療所でたった一人の医師として働く伊野治（笑福亭鶴瓶）がある日、突然姿を消し、大騒ぎになるところから映画は始まる。二人の刑事が捜査を進めるうち、伊野の過去が少しずつわかってくる。
伊野は3年半前、たまたま知り合った村長から頼まれ、医師として村に迎えられた。ベテラン看護師、大竹と診療にあたり、家々を訪ねて健康診断もする熱心さで、村人たちからは「神様仏様」よりも尊敬されている。そこに最近、東京の医大を出た研修医、相馬がやって来た。皆に優しい伊野の人柄と仕事ぶりに、相馬もひかれていく。
ある日、夫に先立たれてから一人で暮らしている鳥飼かづ子が倒れる。連絡を受けて伊野たちは駆けつけるが、かづ子はどこも異常はないと答える。気がかりな伊野はその晩、かづ子を再び訪ねる。かづ子は、それぞれの人生を歩む娘たちには迷惑をかけたくない、東京で医師をしている娘にも体調不良を知らせたくないと言い、「先生、一緒にうそついてくださいよ」と訴える。
かづ子の気持ちを理解した伊野は「よし、引き受けました」と答えるが、その代わり胃カメラ検査を受けさせる。かづ子には胃かいようだと伝えたが、がんを心配した伊野は専門機関に検査を依頼する。その結果、彼女が末期がんに冒されていることがわかる。かづ子を気落ちさせたくない伊野は、真実を告げない。そこで、診療所に出入りする製薬会社の男を呼び出し、胃カメラを飲ませ、診察結果をすり替える。
しばらくして、かづ子のもとに3人の娘たちが久しぶりに里帰りする。母親が薬を飲んでいることに気づいた医師のりつ子は、診療所を訪れる。すり替えられた胃の写真を見ながら伊野を質問攻めにするりつ子だったが、最後は納得する。りつ子がまた1年後に母親を訪ねるつもりと話すと、伊野は突然、バイクで診療所を飛び出し、姿を消す。
警察は必死で捜査するが、伊野の居場所はわからない。やがて伊野に医師免許がなかったとわかると、村人たちの心配の声は非難の声に変わる。かづ子はりつ子の勤める病院に入院する。彼女の病室に白い帽子とマスク姿でお茶を配る男が入っていく。伊野と思われるその男の人懐っこい笑顔にかづ子は微笑みかえし、映画は終わる。
[From August Issue 2010]
SUMMER WARS (Directed by HOSODA Mamoru)
This animated movie was released in the summer of 2009 and had a long run in the theatres. It won many motion picture awards including the 2010 Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year. The director, HOSODA Mamoru, garnered previous praise both at home and abroad for his 2006 film “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.” Most of that movie’s staff, including the scriptwriter and the animators, all reunited for “SUMMER WARS.”
The main characters KOISO Kenji and SHINOHARA Natsuki are both Tokyo high school students. While on summer holidays, Natsuki offers Kenji a part-time job. Since he has a crush on Natsuki, and all that he has to do is accompany her to her mother’s parents’ home, he accepts. However, he learns that the real job is to pretend to be Natsuki’s fiance for a few days in order to cheer up her dispirited great-grandmother, Sakae.
Natsuki’s great grandmother’s house, located in the mountains of Nagano Prefecture, was kept by the Jinnouchi family, whose ancestors were wartime samurai. The big residence and its vast grounds are run by Sakae, who is about to celebrate her 90th birthday. Relatives from across Japan arrive one after another, all believing that Kenji is Natsuki’s fiance. That night, Kenji receives a mysterious numerical cell phone message. As a math wiz, he assumes it as a math problem, and solves it.
The next morning, Kenji awakens to the news that the virtual reality city of “OZ” is in chaos. While OZ is similar to the real world when shopping and utility payments are concerned, it is still a virtual, Internet-based place, where all of its users have their own Avatars. What Kenji did was break the pass code to enter the OZ control system.
While dozens of other people around the world have also deciphered the passcode, Kenji learns that he made a miscalculation. However, an artificial intelligence named “Love Machine” has already entered OZ and is stealing users’ IDs in order to control all the information and authorization codes. That is causing traffic problems in the real world and even changed the course of a returning interplanetary probe. During the mayhem, Sakae dies.
Wabisuke, the illegitimate son of Jinnouchi’s great-grandfather, confides that he developed the Love Machine. He says that it has been sent to OZ experimentally by the U.S. Department of Defense. The men of the Jinnouchi family decide to join Kenji to fight the Love Machine, which cannot be controlled by humans. After a hard battle, Natsuki plays hanafuda (Japanese traditional playing cards), the game she learned from Sakae, and using her Avatar, challenges Love Machine, finally destroying it.
[2010年8月号掲載記事]
サマーウォーズ（細田 守 監督）
2009年夏に公開され、ロングランヒットとなったアニメ映画。2010日本アカデミー賞最優秀アニメーション作品賞など、多くの映画賞を受賞した。監督の細田守が2006年に映画化した『時をかける少女』は国内外で高く評価された。今回の作品も当時の脚本家やアニメーターなど、主なスタッフが再び製作を手がけた。
主人公は東京都内の高校に通う小磯健二と篠原夏希。夏休みのある日、健二は夏希からアルバイトの話をもちかけられる。憧れの夏希からの頼みだったため、健二は夏希の母親の実家に同行するだけと聞いて、引き受ける。しかし実際には、元気のない曽祖母、栄を元気づけるために夏希の婚約者になりきって数日を過ごす、というものだった。
長野県の山あいにある夏希の曽祖母の家は、戦国時代の武士を祖先にもつ陣内家。敷地も屋敷も広く、間もなく90歳になる、栄が取り仕切っている。日本各地から次々と親戚が集まり、健二は「夏希の彼氏」として受け入れられる。その晩、健二の携帯電話に数字だらけの謎のメールが送られてくる。数学の得意な健二は、数学の問題として考え、解いてしまう。
翌朝、健二が起きると、仮想都市「OZ」が大混乱におちいったとニュースが伝えていた。OZは、買い物や公共料金の支払いなど、現実世界と同じように機能しているインターネット上の仮想世界。世界中の利用者が個人の分身、アバターをもっている。健二が解いたのはOZをコントロールするシステムへ侵入するためのパスワードだったのだ。
全世界でパスワードを解いた者は数十人おり、健二は計算違いで解けていなかったことがわかる。しかし、すでに「ラブマシーン」と名付けられた人工知能がOZに侵入し、利用者たちのIDを奪ってあらゆる情報や権限を握っていた。それが現実世界の交通渋滞を引き起こし、宇宙から地球に戻る途中の惑星探査機の進路まで狂わせていた。そんな折、栄が息を引き取る。
ラブマシーンの開発者が陣内家の曽祖父の隠し子、侘助であり、アメリカ国防総省が試験的にOZに送り込んだということが、本人から明かされる。人間にはコントロールできず、陣内家の男たちと健二らは協力し合い、ラブマシーンに戦いを挑む。苦しい戦いの末、夏希が栄に教わった花札（日本のカードゲーム）を武器に自分のアバターで勝負し、ラブマシーンをほろぼす。
[From July Issue 2010]
Chiyoko Millennial Actress (Directed by KON Satoshi)
This is an anime film written and directed by KON Satoshi, who started his career as a manga artist. It won the Grand Prize in the animation category at the 2001 Japan Media Arts Festival held by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, tying with “Spirited Away,” directed by MIYAZAKI Hayao. Centering on the present, the plot advances in a unique manner, with a mixture of the past and the future, and of reality and fantasy.
TACHIBANA Genya, the president of a film production company, is asked to make a documentary in commemoration of the demolition of Ginei, the movie studio where he once worked. So, he decides to interview FUJIWARA Chiyoko, the greatest actress the studio has ever produced, in order to record her life’s story. Though a big fan of Fujiwara himself, even 30 years after her retirement from show business, Tachibana has no idea where she lives, nor does anyone else.
Having finally managed to arrange an interview with Chiyoko, Tachibana visits her home along with a young cameraman. Despite having refused interviews for 30 years, she agrees to the meeting after being told that Tachibana has something for her. As soon as they meet, Tachibana hands her a small box. With a surprised look, Fujiwara opens it to find an old key inside.
Taking it in her hand, Chiyoko explains that it is “the key to open the most important thing there is.” Little by little, she begins to tell how as a high school student, she was discovered by Ginei, and about the real reason for her entering show business, in spite of her mother’s opposition – her burning love for a man whom she saved while she was in high school.
Chiyoko recounts how she met the man long ago, when Japan was still very militaristic. He was an artist, and a criminal wanted for having anti-government views. As it happened, Chiyoko sheltered this fugitive, and the two talked and talked without ever learning each other’s names. Then, she caught sight of this key he had.
The man told her that it was the key to open the most important thing. The following day, on her way home from school, she found it lying in the street. With a sense of foreboding, she rushed home only to find that he had already disappeared, just ahead of the police, who had discovered where he was hiding. From then on, Chiyoko searched for the man using what little information she had, so she could give him back his key.
Reflecting on her life, she sees herself move from wartime Tokyo, where she was born and raised, through her past movies which depicted the Sengoku period and the last days of the Tokugawa Shognate. Tachibana and the cameraman also appear in those scenes, but only Chiyoko can see them. Her story travels through various eras, mixing real events with her fantasies.
Just before the end of the interview, Chiyoko faints. When she awakens at the hospital, she realizes that her time is soon coming. Smiling at both Tachibana and the cameraman by her side, she tells them that she is not afraid of death. “After all, I’m going after that man again,” she says, before gently closing her eyes forever.
[2010年7月号掲載記事]
千年女優（今 敏 監督）
漫画家出身の今敏監督が原作、脚本も手がけたアニメーション作品。2001年度の文化庁メディア芸術祭アニメーション部門大賞を宮崎駿監督の『千と千尋の神隠し』と同時受賞した。現代の話を中心に、過去と未来、事実と空想が入り交じる独特の手法で描かれている。
映像制作会社社長、立花源也は、かつて自分も働いていた映画会社「銀映」の撮影所が取り壊されるにあたり、ドキュメンタリー制作を依頼される。そして、銀映が生んだ大女優、藤原千代子の人生をインタビューしようとする。立花も千代子の大ファンだったが、30年前に芸能界を引退した彼女がどこに住んでいるか知る人は少なかった。
ようやくインタビューの約束を取りつけた立花は、若手カメラマンを連れて千代子の家を訪れる。30年間、取材を拒否してきた千代子だったが、立花からある物を差し上げたいと言われて応じたのだ。早速、立花は小さな箱を千代子に差し出す。驚きながらも千代子が箱を開けると、そこには古い鍵がおさめられていた。
千代子はその鍵を手にとると、「一番大切なものを開ける鍵」と説明する。彼女は、女学生の頃に銀映にスカウトされたことや、母親の反対を押し切ってまで芸能界入りした本当の理由を少しずつ語り始める。その理由とは、女学生の頃に助けたある男へのはげしい恋心だった。
その昔、まだ日本が軍国主義にわいていた頃、千代子はその男と出逢った。絵描きだった男は国家に反抗的な考えを持つと判断され、犯罪者として追われていたのだ。警察から逃げていたところを、偶然、千代子がかくまうと、二人は互いの名も名乗らないまま語り合う。その時、彼女は男の持っていた鍵に目が留まる。
男は「一番大切なものを開ける鍵」と答える。翌日、学校の帰り道、千代子は男の鍵を道ばたで拾う。いやな予感を覚え急いで家に帰ると、警察に隠れ場所を発見された男はすでに姿を消した後だった。それ以来、千代子はわずかな情報を頼りに、鍵を返すために男の姿を追い求める。
千代子が振り返る半生は、千代子自身が生まれ育った戦時下の東京が出てきたかと思えば、戦国時代や幕末を描いた彼女の出演映画の世界に移動したりする。常にその世界に登場する立花とカメラマンの姿は、千代子にしか見えない。こうして彼女の話は、事実と彼女の空想とが交差していく。
インタビューが終わる頃、千代子は突然、気を失う。病院で意識が戻るが、彼女は死が迫っていることに気づく。そして、付き添う立花とカメラマンに笑顔を向け、死は恐くないと話す。「だって私、またあの人を追いかけて行くんですもの」と言うと、彼女は目を閉じるのだった。
[From June Issue 2010]
Swing Girls (Directed by YAGUCHI Shinobu)
This story takes place in a small town in the Tohoku region of Japan where 13 remedial high school students, including SUZUKI Tomoko (UENO Juri), are attending supplementary classes during summer vacation. One day, the school’s entire brass band, the one supporting the school’s baseball team, contracts a severe case of mass food poisoning. NAKAMURA Takuo, the only healthy band member left, tries to rebuild the band with new recruits. Tomoko and others who want to skip their supplementary classes, as well as some who enjoy playing music, join the band.
Soon a new, 17-member band is formed, led by timid Nakamura. Tomoko and the other girls complain about all the running and muscle training, but still the band starts taking shape. Eventually, as the original band members start to recover, Tomoko and her friends lose their positions. But the girls, who start to enjoy playing music, decide to form their own band at the beginning of the new semester. Nakamura, who did not fit in with the brass band, quits and joins them.
Tomoko and the other girls start working part-time to buy their instruments, but most of them end up spending their money on clothes and bags, and eventually quit the band. Four members including Tomoko, and Nakamura never give up and finally buy used saxophones and trumpets to form “Swing Girls and a Boy.” OZAWA, the Jazz-freak math teacher, then introduces them to the excitement of Jazz, and the band get into full swing.
The former band members decide to return when they hear how well Tomoko and the others thrillingly play together. One day, they find out that the “Tohoku Students Music Festival” is accepting applications, so they record an audition tape. However, Tomoko misses the deadline, eliminating any chance for them to take part in the contest. Tomoko still hasn’t told the truth, even by the day of the contest. They are all travelling to the concert hall by train when they are stopped by a snow storm. Finally the students know that they won’t be able to play anyway.
Disappointed, they blame Tomoko for her fault. Then, as they overhear some passenger’s portable radio playing Jazz, they all start spontaneously playing their instruments. Soon after that, a motor coach arrives to pick them up, as they have been invited to participate in the contest as replacements for another band that had to cancel due to the same storm.
The band eventually gets on stage for the festival’s final performance, and just start playing in harmony. While their style of Jazz, with its unique rhythms and power horns, is in sharp contrast to the classics that the other bands played, it still gets the audience going. Eventually all the people are standing and clapping to the beat.
Released in 2004, this movie won many prizes including ‘Best Film Nominee’ at the 2005 Japanese Academy Awards. All the actors trained intensively to learn how to play their instruments before filming began, and performed live nationally and internationally to help promote it.
[2010年6月号掲載記事]
スウィングガールズ（矢口史靖 監督）
舞台は東北地方の田舎町。落ちこぼれの高校生、鈴木友子（上野樹里）たち13人は、夏休みの補習授業を受けていた。その頃、野球部の試合を応援していた吹奏楽部の生徒たちが集団食中毒に倒れる。ただ一人食中毒にならなかった男子生徒、中村拓雄は足りない部員を集める。補習をさぼりたい友子たちと、楽器好きな生徒が参加する。
気弱な中村を中心に17人のバンドが結成される。友子たちはランニングや筋力トレーニングなどに弱音をはくが、それでもバンドは少しずつ形になっていく。そこへ吹奏楽部の生徒たちが回復して戻ると、友子らは居場所をなくす。だが、演奏の楽しさに目覚め始めていた彼女たちは、二学期になるとバンドを再び結成する。吹奏楽部になじめず退部した中村もそこに加わる。
友子たちは楽器代を稼ぐためアルバイトをするが、大半のメンバーは服やバッグにお金を使い、バンドも辞めてしまう。友子ら4人と中村はあきらめず、中古のサックスやトランペットを手に入れ「スウィングガールズ・アンド・ア・ボーイ」を結成する。ジャズマニアの数学教師、小澤がジャズの面白さを伝え、バンドは活気づく。
友子らのバンド演奏に刺激され他のメンバーも戻ってくる。ある日、「東北学生音楽祭」の出場者を募集していることを知り、演奏を録画した応募用テープを作る。だが、友子が締切を過ぎて送ったため、参加できなくなる。出場できると信じているメンバーの手前、友子はそのことを言い出せないまま、音楽祭当日を迎える。そして、会場に向かう列車が吹雪のために停車した直後、ついに他の生徒たちは演奏できないことを知る。
彼女たちは落ち込み、友子を責める。そのとき、乗客の一人が持っていたラジオからジャズが流れ出すと、誰からともなく演奏を始める。そこへ、一台の大型バスが到着する。彼女たちを迎えに来たのだ。吹雪で参加できなくなった他の学校の代わりに、友子たちが参加できることになったという。
音楽祭の最後にステージに上がった友子たちは、気持ちをひとつにして演奏を開始する。他の参加チームがクラシックを演奏する中、独特のリズムと迫力のあるジャズは観客を引き付ける。やがて観客は総立ちとなって手拍子をとるのだった。
この作品は2004年に公開され、2005年日本アカデミー賞の優秀作品賞をはじめ、数々の映画賞を受賞。バンドのメンバーを演じた俳優たちは撮影前に楽器を猛練習し、上映キャンペーン中には国内外で演奏を披露した。
[From May Issue 2010]
Juvenile Jungle (Directed by NAKAHIRA Ko)
This original story was written by the present governor of Tokyo ISHIHARA Shintaro, who is also a known novelist. Ishihara, who wrote the script, approved the making of the film on the condition that his younger brother, Yujiro, play the leading role. Shot on location in Zushi and neighboring Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, where the brothers spent their youth, the film depicts the lives of university students raised in a wealthy family, whose days are full of womanizing, fighting and sibling rivalry.
TAKISHIMA Natsuhisa (ISHIHARA Yujiro) and his younger brother, Haruji (TSUGAWA Masahiko) are the main characters. In comparison, Natsuhisa is taller, more skilled at picking up women and at winning fights, while Haruji is more slender and serious, and tends to gets treated like a child among his brother’s friends. One day, on his way to one of Natsuhisa’s friend’s villa, Haruji finds himself attracted to a woman he sees at the train station.
That same day, Natsuhisa and his friends plan an unusual party featuring a woman pick-up contest. Whoever brings the most attractive woman will be the winner. Haruji immediately thinks about the woman he met earlier that day. Then a few days later, while water-skiing, Haruji sees another attractive woman swimming just offshore.
When Haruji realizes that the woman swimming is the same one he met a few days earlier, he gets nervous. Natsuhisa, in his suave manner, chats-up the woman and then carries her ashore. Later, by coincidence, Haruji sees her yet again at the station and, finally learning that her name is AMAKUSA Eri (KITAHARA Mie), he invites her to the party. Natsuhisa and his friends are surprised when the shy Haruji arrives at the villa with beautiful Eri.
Haruji and Eri continue to date but he never learns her address because she keeps telling him that “My mother is quite strict.” One night, Natsuhisa discovers that Eri has an American husband, and threatens to expose her secret to Haruji unless she has sex with him. Natsuhisa is irritated to learn that Eri is still genuinely drawn to Haruji, with a pure heart, even after they had sex.
One day, Haruji invites Eri to go camping. Natsuhisa gets to their meeting point earlier than Haruji and takes Eri to his yacht. After searching all night, Haruji finally finds them both. Haruji remains silent, but there is anger in his eyes. Eri, wanting to be with Haruji, jumps in to the water to swim to his boat, but without saying a word, he just runs her over. Then he rams into Natsuhisa’s yacht, breaking it to pieces, and just keeps going.
Released in 1956, this movie greatly influenced many young Japanese people. With the earlier release of “Season of the Sun” (original story by Ishihara Shintaro) that same year, youth called “taiyouzoku” (sun tribes), who ignored common sense to live carefree lives, made Shonan Beach increasingly popular. Ishihara Yujiro, who became a big star following this movie, eventually married Kitahara Mie, who played his love interest.
[2010年5月号掲載記事]
狂った果実（中平 康 監督）
原作は現東京都知事で作家としても知られる石原慎太郎の小説。石原は実の弟、裕次郎の主演を条件に映画化を許可し、自ら脚本も手がけた。舞台は石原兄弟が青春時代を過ごした神奈川県逗子市や隣の鎌倉市。金持ちの家庭に育った大学生たちの女遊びやけんかをくり返す姿と、兄弟の争いを描いている。
主人公は、滝島夏久（石原裕次郎）と弟の春次（津川雅彦）。背が高くてナンパ（街などで男性が女性に声をかけて遊ぶこと）がうまく、けんかもつよい夏久と違い、細い体形とまじめな性格の春次は、兄の仲間からも子ども扱いされている。ある日、夏久の友人の別荘に向かう途中、春次は駅ですれ違った女性にひと目ぼれする。
その日、夏久たちは、変わったパーティーを開く計画を立てる。それぞれがナンパした女性たちを同伴し、どの女性が一番かわいいかを競うというのだ 。春次の頭に昼間の女性が思い浮かぶ。数日後、春次は夏久とモーターボートを走らせて水上スキーをしている最中に、浜から離れて泳ぐ女性を見つける。
それが数日前に会った女性とわかると、春次は緊張する。慣れた口調で夏久が声をかけ、二人は彼女をボートで岸まで送る。後日、再び駅のホームで偶然女性と会った春次は声をかける。そして春次は、天草恵梨（北原三枝）と名乗る彼女をパーティーに誘う。シャイな春次が美しい恵梨を連れて別荘に姿を現したことに、夏久たちはおどろく。
二人は何度かデートをするが、「母が厳しいの」と言い訳するばかりで、恵梨は春次に自分の家を教えようとはしない。ある晩、夏久は、恵梨にアメリカ人の夫がいることを知る。春次に黙っておく代わりに、自分と関係を持つように夏久は迫る。夏久と肉体関係を結んでも、恵梨の心は純粋な心を持つ春次にあることを知り、夏久はいら立つ。
ある日、春次は恵梨をキャンプに誘う。夏久は、春次より一足先に待ち合わせ場所に行き、ヨットに恵梨を乗せてしまう。モーターボートで二人をさがす春次は、一晩かけて彼らを見つける。春次はその目に怒りを表すが声には出さない。恵梨は春次のボートに移ろうと海に飛び込むが、春次は何も言わずに恵梨をひいてしまう。そして、夏久のヨットにも突進し、ヨットごと粉々に砕くと、そのままボートを走らせるのだった。
この作品は1956年当時の若者たちに大きな影響を与えた。同じ年に公開された「太陽の季節」（石原慎太郎原作）から生まれた、社会常識に反発して自由気ままに生きる「太陽族」と呼ばれる若者が増え、舞台となった湘南海岸も有名になった。また、この映画で大スターの仲間入りを果たした石原裕次郎は、ヒロインの北原三枝と結婚した。
Information From Hiragana Times
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