La Jeunesse de la bête

"Yaju no Seishun" ("Youth of the Beast") is, without doubt, one of the greatest Japanese films of the 1960's. It is also, arguably, the best film from the amazing director, Suzuki Seijun. This was Suzuki-sensei's "breakthrough" film; in as much as it was the first film where he truly let his flamboyant, dizzying, artistic sense come forward. Full of intense, innovative, eye-popping visuals, the film never loses its solid narrative flow; thanks, in part, to a great script based on the novel by Hard-Boiled master, Oyabu Haruhiko. What more could one ask for? A great story, brilliant direction, and outstanding performances (especially by Shishido Jo). This is a superior example of the Japanese thriller--and, for that matter, crime cinema of the 1960's in general!