Passion

Sean

Not polished enough for me to declare this Hamaguchi's first "great film", but my god this is unbelievable for a student film(to be fair, it was the final one he made before graduation). While technically this is a little rough around the edges, with the digital photography not used to its benefit, and instead serving as a slight layer of detachment and coldness(arguably this is thematically relevant, but I felt it was a bit too disjointed/rough for it to be the intention), but everything else is pretty spectacular for a student film. Hamaguchi seems to prefer questions to answers, and this is the farthest I've seen him lean in that direction -- the scene on violence in the classroom, in particular, is some of Hamaguchi's best work, with each word carefully placed, continually clouding the already-muddied waters. He never allows his characters to fully work out their struggles with one another and internally, instead opting for a series of conversations, honest for the first time in their lives that shake them to their core. What feels consistent amongst the few I've seen from Hamaguchi is he never wastes time -- each conversation is essential to building his characters and ideas, and even though nothing is ever really worked out, it's given such nuance that it can't be worked out, at least not without years to ruminate on the consequences of the conversations he presents us with. I can't recall the last time I've been this excited about a filmmaker, and I've only seen three films from him so far, with two of them being directed as a student. Cannot wait to see where he goes next.

˗ˏˋ suspirliam ˊˎ˗4.0

it’s kinda like hamaguchi’s Husbands (1970) and i’m very much here for it

cine_matic 💢3.5

[Ryūsuke Hamaguchi Ranked][Japanese Movies Ranked]Passion is Hamaguchi’s second feature-length film and his master’s degree graduate work from Tokyo University of Arts. For being a thesis project and something so early on in his filmmaking career, it’s actually a pretty solid movie for the most part. There’s little hints and traces of what would make Hamaguchi the acclaimed director that he is today. The movie follows a group of people that are in different stages of their lives (relationship-wise) and as the story plays out, there’s quite a bit of juicy tea to be sipped and revelations to be had. Hamaguchi lights the spark to the dynamite and while it almost fizzles out at times due to uneven pacing, we do get an explosive and emotional final act. There was a scene where Kaho was having a discussion with her students about violence and it seemed a bit out of place to me. I’m sure it connects with the main themes of the film in some way, but I’m not seeing exactly how at the time of typing out this review. That whole scene kind of took me out of it, to be honest. The cinematography was amateurish at best, but it’s something I can overlook. I wouldn’t really call Passion a mandatory viewing experience. But if you’re a fan of Ryūsuke Hamaguchi, you should give it a watch. You’ll probably find some things to appreciate about it like I did. This movie serves as a reminder that no matter what walk of life you’re currently on, commitment is no joke. You not only need to learn to love yourself, but it all begins with figuring out who the hell you are and what you want.