Lowlife Love (2015)

In the underbelly of the film industry, we meet Tetsuo (Kiyohiko Shibukawa), a fallen indie director clinging to his artistic dignity as his career stagnates. Despite a promising hit years ago, he's now a washed-up loser, exploiting his friends and family well into his late 30s. His life is a chaotic blend of borrowing money from his relatives, and teaming up with his best friend Mamoru (Yoshihiko Hosoda) to make pornographic films for dubious clients for a living. Their other venture? An acting school, a facade and a hunting ground for Tetsuo to prey on starry-eyed would-be actresses. However, the monotonous cycle of Tetsuo's life is disrupted with the arrival of two new students. Minami (Maya Okano), a young and naive country girl with dreams of stardom, and Ken (Shugo Oshinari), an overseas-based scriptwriter. In Minami, Tetsuo sees a raw talent, a potential star. In Ken's script, he sees a chance to resurrect his sinking career. As he plans to use Minami as his muse and Ken’s script as his comeback project, they draw the attention of an unscrupulous producer, Kida (Denden). As they attempt to materialize their ambitious project, Minami's undeniable talent catches the eye of other directors, like Kano (Kanji Furutachi) and Shinjo (Kanji Tsuda), threatening to unravel Tetsuo's fragile world. With his past misdeeds looming over him, will Tetsuo be able to navigate through the chaos and make a fresh start, or will his world collapse under the weight of his own actions?

Lowlife Love is a drama movie featuring Kiyohiko Shibukawa and directed by Eiji Uchida.

Lowlife Love is currently streaming on ARROW.