A Touch of Fever (1993)

Seeing the end of this movie, I've increased my rating. It seems initially just a gentle-paced, interesting story of some male hustlers. However the seemingly bizarre ending is a very clever twist indeed, making the lead character (Tatsuru) confront his own character and the life he's leading, which is based on suppressing his real feelings. There's also an interesting twist before that involving one of his former "clients". I can't say more or I'll give the plot away. But I will say that this movie will repay careful watching and thought. It's more than just a pleasant amusement with some pleasant faced actors. I have to disagree with the other reviewer. I think the slow pace and the talking are all part of the build up to what is a thought-provoking ending. I hope I'm right in thinking that it's a good ending in the sense that people can only grow when they get insight into themselves and how true to themselves they are being in the life they are leading. For me that's a good ending and a meaningful movie.

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I wanted to like this more than I did. It wasn't a bad movie. However, there were a lot of long, drawn out scenes where people were just staring into space or talking about nothing...I think these scenes were supposed to add tension, or make you "feel" what was going on as opposed to telling you, but for me they just felt excessive. Also, I don't know if I'm just not bright or something, but I don't really understand what happens in the end. I didn't understand all of what happened in the movie, either. On the positive side, there were a few scenes that I think really worked, and I liked the acting for the most part. I did end up caring about one main character more than the other. The BL was mostly implied, not graphic, so if you're not into that, you don't have to worry about seeing something you don't want to see. This isn't porn disguised as drama. I think it's more about the way the characters view themselves and each other and what they are doing than anything else.

I doubt I'll rewatch this. For one thing, it's a bit long, aided by those long silences I talked about before. There were long bits of the movie where it felt like nothing was happening. The movie is old so the fashion is also a bit distracting. The main lead always has his pants belted practically at his throat, for instance.

When rating music, my first thought was "Was there any music in this?" So that's why it's such a low score.

Overall, I think people who are more into movies with an independent feel than I am will enjoy it more.

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