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Nanami: The Inferno of First Love (初恋・地獄篇, Hatsukoi Jigokuhen), also known as The Inferno of First Love and Nanami, First Love, is a 1968 Japanese drama film directed by Susumu Hani. It was co-scripted by Hani and Shūji Terayama. The film competed for the Golden Bear award at the 18th Berlin International Film Festival in 1968.[3]

Nanami: The Inferno of First Love
Japanese film poster
Directed by	Susumu Hani
Written by	Susumu Hani Shūji Terayama
Produced by	Tomoji Fujii
Starring	Kuniko Ishii Akio Takahashi
Cinematography	Yuji Okumura
Edited by	Susumu Hani
Music by	Tōru Takemitsu Akio Yashiro Masao Yagi Makoto Wada
Production companies	Hani Productions Art Theatre Guild
Distributed by	Art Theatre Guild
Release date	25 May 1968 (1968-05-25) (Japan) [1]
Running time	108 minutes[1]
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese
Budget	$130,000[2]

Plot

Nanami, a young nude dancer, and her friend Shun, who is still a virgin, rent a room in a love hotel. He isn't able to make love to her, but she is understanding about it. They both reflect on their past; Nanami came from Shizuoka to Tokyo and started working as a dancer because her former job didn't pay enough, Shun was left by his mother as a child and now works as a goldsmith in his stepfather's workshop. In flashbacks, it is revealed that Shun was and is still being repeatedly sexually abused by his stepfather. A customer of Nanami, Ankokuji, talks her into participating in erotic photo shootings with other models, which are also attended by members of the red light district and the yakuza. Shun, who witnessed the photo shootings and is jealous of Ankokuji, confronts him and Nanami. Ankokuji explains his interest in Nanami with his loveless marriage, but when Nanami later sees him with his seemingly harmonic family, she turns away from him in disappointment. Nanami and Shun continue seeing each other and make another appointment in the love hotel. On his way to the hotel, Shun is stopped by Ankokuji's former red light district associates, who try to press him into telling them Nanami's whereabouts. Shun flees and is fatally hit by a car when he crosses the street. Nanami, who waits for Shun in the hotel apartment, hears the voices from the street, opens the window and sees Shun's body surrounded by passers-by.

Cast

• Kuniko Ishii – Chiaki Nanami
• Akio Takahashi – Shun
• Haruo Asanu – Algebra
• Ichirō Kimura – Psychiatrist
• Kazuo Kimura – Doctor
• Kōji Mitsui – Mr. Otagaki, Shun's stepfather (although the role is credited to the popular actor Kōji Mitsui (三井弘次) in many English-language reference works, the character is portrayed by a different actor whose name's Kanji characters (満井幸治) also translate to "Kōji Mitsui," and whose only film credit is this role.[4])
• Kazuko Fukuda – Mrs. Otagaki, Shun's stepmother
• Misako Miyato – Mother
• Minoru Yuasa – Ankokuji
• Kimiko Nakamura – Ankokuji's wife

Release

Nanami: The Inferno of First Love grossed over $1 million in Japan.[2] The film was originally released in the United States with 20 minutes cut.[2]

Reception

Many film scholars consider this work to be one of Hani's major achievements, while others judge the film to be commercial and exploitive.[5] In A Hundred Years of Japanese Film, film historian Donald Richie called it "one of the seminal films of the sixties".[6]

In 2012, filmmaker Ashim Ahluwalia included the film in his personal top ten (for The Sight & Sound Top 50 Greatest Films of All Time poll), writing: "Nanami: Inferno of First Love delivers emerging adolescent sexuality and lyrical debauchery as only the Japanese New Wave can. Do not accept imitations!"[7]

References

Bibliography

• Buehrer, Beverley Bare (1990). "Nanami – The Inferno of First Love (1968)". Japanese Films: A Filmography and Commentary, 1921-1989. Jefferson, North Carolina, and London: McFarland. pp. 195–197. ISBN 978-0899504582.

External links

• Nanami: The Inferno of First Love at IMDb
• Sharp, Jasper. "Nanami, First Love". Midnight Eye. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
• Nanami: The Inferno of First Love at the Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese)
• Nanami: The Inferno of First Love at AllMovie

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