Hatsukoi

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Movie: First Love
Romaji: Hatsukoi
Japanese: 初恋
Director: Yukinari Hanawa
Writer: Misuzu Nakahara (novel), Yukinari Hanawa (screenplay)
Producer: Shusaku Matsuoka, Shigeo Minakami
Cinematographer Junichi Fujisawa
Release Date: June 10, 2006
Runtime: 114 Min.
Genre: Crime / Romance
Distributor: Gaga Communications
Language: Japanese
Country: Japan

Plot

In the chaotic days of the 1960s, Misuzu, a lonely high school girl from a troubled family, finds sanctuary with her nihilistic brother, Ryo, and his friends. They pass their days hanging around a shadowy jazz cafe bar, indulging themselves in a life of sex, drugs and alcohol. Social unrest simmers, while their relationships gradually falter. Misuzu gets drawn into a dangerous plot against society that was hatched by one of the rebellious youths, Kishi; they will rob a bank car of 300 million yen! The two accomplices set out for numerous rehearsals, while in their hearts they secretly and quietly become even closer. Then one rainy day, aided by coincidence, they pull off their heist successfully, which has a huge impact throughout Japan. However, it brings Misuzu only a great sense of loss and sadness, which she had never anticipated...

Notes

The 300 Million Yen Affair is one of the most well known real life unsolved crimes in Japan. The incident took place on the rainy morning of December 10, 1968 when a car that carried 300 million Yen was hijacked by a criminal wearing a fake policeman's outfit. Even though more than 100 pieces of evidences were left behind by the criminals, with 170,000 policemen against 110,000 suspects spending almost a billion yen in the investigation, nobody was arrested and the stolen money was never found. The investigation was officially closed for prescription in 1975.
Related titles (also based on the "300 million yen robbery case"):
1. Lost Crime -Senkou- (2010)