Passion

Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Film Movement
2008
115 Minutes
Japan
Japanese
Drama, Romance, Asian
Not Rated
play trailer
Blu-ray
$29.95 Members
$39.95 Non-Members
DVD
$24.95 Members
$34.95 Non-Members

When Kaho (Aoba Kawai) and Tomoya (Ryuta Okamoto) announce their engagement at a celebratory dinner with friends, they are unprepared for the emotional turmoil that is unleashed once a prior infidelity comes to light. Later that evening, Tomoya is invited to the apartment of his former classmate, Takako (Fusako Urabe), leading to further revelations of passion and indiscretion.

The debut theatrical feature from one of today’s preeminent auteurs, PASSION displays Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s rich and nuanced insight into modern relationships while establishing the thematic foundations for his later films such as Happy Hour, Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, and the Oscar-winning Drive My Car.

Cast

  • Aoba Kawai
  • Fusako Urabe
  • Nao Okabe
  • Ryuta Okamoto
  • Kiyohiko Shibukawa
  • Yue
DVD Features

Bonus Features:

Introduction by director Ryusuke Hamaguchi

From Passion to Fortune video essay by film and theatre writer Kenji Fujishima

Discs: 1

Blu-ray Features

Bonus Features:

Introduction by director Ryusuke Hamaguchi

From Passion to Fortune video essay by film and theatre writer Kenji Fujishima

Discs: 1

  • Highest Rating
    "Like certain influential early career films that preceded it — Barry Levinson’s “Diner,” Lawrence Kasdan’s “The Big Chill” — “Passion” has a low-fi, hangout feel, flush with the youthful indie energy and forgivable pretensions of an artist who believes that filmmaking matters. Hamaguchi is still a student but already finding his voice."
    Austin Considine, The New York Times
  • Highest Rating
    "Hamaguchi’s script offers florid arias of confrontation and self-revelation; in his striking repertoire of visual compositions, including flurries of urgent closeups and thrillingly panoramic long takes, the poised and assertive actors seem to fill not just the screen but the city itself with his prose."
    Richard Body, The New Yorker
  • Highest Rating
    "Passion already finds Hamaguchi to be a superb orchestrator of moods and tones"
    Chuck Bowen, Slant Magazine
  • Highest Rating
    "“Filmed on celluloid with questionable lighting but a lovely music score, this is a relatively simple and prolonged story supported by dynamic dialogue. It breaks the barrier for film withstanding the test of time.” "
    Sabina Dana Plasse, Film Threat
  • Highest Rating
    "The modern cinema is defined by writer-directors whose movies reconsider the relationship between images and spoken language; the prolific young Japanese filmmaker Ryûsuke Hamaguchi...finds original responses to the challenge, as seen in his first feature, “Passion,” from 2008."
    Richard Brody, The New Yorker
  • Highest Rating
    "Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Passion”... is a movie which not only highlights the director’s gift of working with actors, but also his sense of place and time, resulting in a story which is both contemplative and captivating."
    Rouven Linnarz, Asian Movie Pulse
  • Highest Rating
    "Love triangles, the shifting fault lines of emotional landscapes, and the ramifications of common cruelty — in Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s second feature, 2008’s “Passion," the celebrated director grapples with the themes that would become a constant in his films to come."
    Kevin Jagernauth, The Playlist
  • Highest Rating
    "PASSION is a tribute to Ryûsuke Hamaguchi's talent and filmmaking vision […] a powerful early attempt that hints at his creative potential. Hamaguchi's understanding of human relationships, emotional vulnerability, and storytelling ability has solidified his status as a compelling and influential figure in contemporary cinema."
    Chris Jones, Overly Honest Movie Reviews
  • Highest Rating
    "Hamaguchi’s first professional film (following a student remake of Solaris), Passion exhibits the poise and willingness to take risks which have distinguished his career, revealing their full potential in Oscar-winner Drive My Car and the astonishing Asako I & II. Whilst it’s still a little rough around the edges and time has not been kind to the print, it’s a real treat for fans and still a cut above most of the cinematic output of the period…. It’s a stunning work for a filmmaker at the start of his career, and well worth revisiting now."
    Jennie Kermode, Eye for Film

Awards & Recognition

Official Selection
San Sebastián Film Festival
Official Selection
Karlovy Vary Int'l. Film Festival
Nominated
Grand Prize
Tokyo FILMeX

You May Also Like...