First Love (Hatsukoi) (2019)
93%RT Audience Score: 88%
Awards & Nominations: NA
First Love’s blend of violence, comedy, and romance might seem disparate — but for director Takashi Miike, it’s just another wildly entertaining entry in a filmography full of them.
First Love is a wild ride that will have you laughing, cringing, and maybe even shedding a tear or two. It’s like if Quentin Tarantino and Wes Anderson had a baby and then let Takashi Miike raise it. The hyper-violence is balanced out by the quirky romance between the two leads, and the jazz-rock score is the perfect accompaniment to the madness on screen. It’s not for the faint of heart, but if you’re looking for something different and exciting, give First Love a chance.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
Well Go USA
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Year of Release
2019
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:1h 48m
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Language(s):
-
Country of origin:Japan
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 27, 2019 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 24, 2019
Genre(s)
Comedy/Crime
Keyword(s)
starring Masataka Kubota, Nao Ômori, Shôta Sometani, Jun Murakami, Sansei Shiomi, Masaaki Uchino, directed by Takashi Miike, written by Masa Nakamura, comedy, crime, drama, box office gross $218.3K, reviewed by Kevin Maher, Mark Kermode, Simran Hans, Robbie Collin, Alex Godfrey, Peter Bradshaw, Dan Bayer, Wilson Kwong, Victor Stiff, Carolyn Hinds, Sarah Ward, Misako Saka, Jeremy Thomas, MPAA rating not specified, drug-smuggling, organized crime, corrupt cops, female assassin, Tokyo, self-confident young boxer, prostitute, hyper-violent, tongue-in-cheek, jazz-rock score, outsiders-against-the-world narrative, young romance, slapstick yakuza crime story, hardware store showdown
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Nao Ômori – Otomo
Shôta Sometani – Kase
Jun Murakami – Ichikawa
Sansei Shiomi –
Masaaki Uchino – Gondo
Director(s)
Takashi Miike
Writer(s)
Masa Nakamura
Producer(s)
Misako Saka, Jeremy Thomas
Film Festivals
Cannes, Toronto
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (121) | Top Critics (31) | Fresh (118) | Rotten (3)
Yes, it’s preposterous and at times hyper-violent, but the tongue is always firmly in its cheek. Until it’s cut out.
March 3, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Kevin Maher
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
A small release, but if you’re looking for something different to see, please let me recommend this one. It’s not like any other film out.
February 20, 2020
Mark Kermode
Kermode & Mayo’s Film Review
TOP CRITIC
Kôji Endô’s thundering jazz-rock score amplifies Miike’s tendency towards playful cartoon excess.
February 16, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Simran Hans
Observer (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Imagine if the David Ayer of Street Kings and End of Watch had shot the first half of a gangster movie, then thrown his megaphone to Spaced-age Edgar Wright.
February 14, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Robbie Collin
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Sweetening up a smidgen without chilling out, this is Miike having fun, bombarding us with squirm-inducing violence while making us laugh and – ever so slightly – tugging on the heartstrings.
February 13, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Alex Godfrey
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
It’s bizarre and very unwholesome. But weirdly inspired.
February 13, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
Every time Miike could go completely off the rails, he reins himself in, pulling back where barging ahead would make this an even more memorable (if messier) experience.
May 13, 2022 | Rating: 7/10
Dan Bayer
Next Best Picture
Theres no question that First Love is a Miike film, but thats not to say that it feels tired or uninspired.
February 13, 2022
Wilson Kwong
VCinema
Another scrappy, outside-the-box crime flick that radiates with [Miikes’s] anarchic spirit.
November 2, 2021
Victor Stiff
Victor Stiff Reviews
Kubota and Konishi (in her first lead role) balance each other, grounding their characters and the film when it’s needed, by providing the emotional and softer aspect of the film, they create the heart of First Love.
July 30, 2021 | Rating: 8/10
Carolyn Hinds
But Why Tho? A Geek Community
There’s a distinctive brand of Miike magic in the movie’s blending of gleefully cartoonish mania with a poignant outsiders-against-the-world narrative, and in everything from its jazz-rock score to its immaculately executed hardware store showdown.
May 30, 2021
Sarah Ward
Concrete Playground
An epitome of Takashi Miike’s entertaining and violent film catalog, First Love combines a slapstick yakuza crime story with young romance. And I love it.
February 9, 2021 | Rating: 4.5/5
Alix Turner
Ready Steady Cut…
Plot
A self-confident young boxer and a prostitute get caught up in a drug-smuggling plot involving organized crime, corrupt cops, and a female assassin in the action-packed comedy/crime film, First Love.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The film stars Masataka Kubota, Nao Ômori, and Shôta Sometani.
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