Seishun Jack: Tomerareruka, Oretachi wo 2 Blu-ray

Fall down so that you do not simply get up empty-handed. The 1980s: a small independent cinema founded in Nagoya by Koji Wakamatsu. A coming-of-age ensemble drama about young people drawn irresistibly to films and movie theatres, and a song of encouragement for you, living in the present.

The mischievous Wakamatsu now also possesses a warm, embracing generosity. Junji Kimata is an elusive, expansive personality. Noriko Kanemoto and Junichi Inoue delicately embody the emotions of youth, wavering between self-consciousness and a lack of confidence. The film captures the atmosphere of that era and becomes a coming-of-age story that lets audiences laugh and cry wholeheartedly.

A coming-of-age film to make you laugh and cry is born. It is the 1980s, ten years after Dare to Stop Us followed young people racing through a turbulent era with cinema as their weapon. The times and the people have changed. This is the supposedly apathetic generation, a time when showing passion is considered uncool. Video is beginning to spread, and audiences are beginning to turn away from cinemas. Going against that current, Koji Wakamatsu establishes a small independent cinema in Nagoya. Its name is Cinema Skhole, meaning “school of cinema” in Latin.

Chosen as its manager is Junji Kimata. After marrying, he left Tokyo’s Bungeiza cinema and returned to his hometown of Nagoya to sell video cameras, convinced that the future belonged to video. Although Wakamatsu constantly sends him spinning, Kimata overcomes financial crises through his natural cheerfulness. Young people are drawn to the cinema. In an era with very few women directors, Noriko Kanemoto says that there is nothing she wants to film, yet cannot tear herself away from cinema. Junichi Inoue, a young film enthusiast from the countryside, also knocks on Wakamatsu Productions’ door, driven by his desire to become a director. Day after day, they are forced to confront their own lack of talent. Even so, they cannot give up on films. Their consolation is Kimata’s repeated reassurance: “It’s still ahead of you. It’s still ahead.”

Even if things are going badly now, there will be another chance. There are more than tears: there is laughter. There is more than despair: there is hope. This film is my story and your story at the same time. It is the story of your youth.

In the 1980s, passion is increasingly regarded as uncool. As the spread of video draws people away from cinemas, Koji Wakamatsu goes against the spirit of the age and opens the small independent Cinema Skhole in Nagoya. He chooses Junji Kimata as manager: a man who left Tokyo’s Bungeiza when he married and returned to his hometown to work as a video-camera salesman. Though Wakamatsu runs him ragged, Kimata’s innate cheerfulness carries him through economic crises. Cinema Skhole attracts young people such as Noriko Kanemoto and Junichi Inoue, whose lives have been hijacked by cinema.

The video extras include a making-of feature, a collection of appearances at screenings, a previously unreleased alternate ending, the music video for Mada Minu Hate wa, and trailers.