Fighting Elegy (1966)

In the pulsating heart of 1930s Okayama, we follow the turbulent journey of Kiroku, a high schooler ensnared in a web of adolescent passion and raw rebellious energy. Kiroku finds himself irresistibly drawn to Michiko, the innocent daughter of the Catholic family with whom he lodges. Yet, he is forced to stifle his burgeoning sexuality and his fervent love for her, channeling his pent-up desires into a tempest of brash defiance and reckless brawling. Guided by the magnetic allure of a street-hardened rogue known as Terrapin, Kiroku plunges himself into the tumultuous world of gang warfare, shattering school rules and igniting brawls against rival factions. As Kiroku navigates this harsh landscape, he often reassures Michiko, "Oh, Michiko, I don't masturbate, I fight," a phrase that encapsulates his struggle to mask his forbidden affection and his desperate attempts to redirect his hormonal surge. In a cataclysmic twist of fate, Kiroku and Terrapin find themselves swept up in the ideological currents of the right-wing Kita Ikki, sinking deeper into an abyss of extremist fervor. As Kiroku morphs into a mirror for the attitudes of a generation of Japanese youth who succumbed to the siren call of imperialism on the brink of World War II, Fighting Elegy presents a poignant allegory of love, lust, and loss – a riveting exploration of the tumultuous landscape of adolescent yearning and the tragic consequences of unchanneled passion.

Fighting Elegy is an action movie featuring Hideki Takahashi and directed by Seijun Suzuki.

Fighting Elegy is currently streaming on Criterion Channel.

It is also possible to buy Fighting Elegy on Apple TV.