Watch Blue Spring For Free

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

The movie's only flaw is also a virtue: It's jammed with characters, stories, warmth and laughs.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

'Aoi Haru' is a very bleak movie that derives its beauty precisely from the haunting sense of nihilism. The almost ruined school with its dingy rooms and dense graffiti is not just the set to the action, it seems to represent the characters' lack of prospects. A movie that makes something of a pun on the word 'adolescence' (together the kanji for 'ao' and 'haru' read as 'adolescence') cannot help but make considerations about the future but these are without a doubt not promising. The school-ground is a yakuza recruiting ground in the most literal of ways and the initiation into gangs is not so much a temporary revolt from troubled teens as it is a preparation for a life of crime. Dreams are hinted at only to be thoroughly dashed. Violence runs rampant but is handled soberly by a camera that know just how much to show to elicit a reaction.It is against this background that the main story unfolds: a friendship between two boys gone wrong. Matsuda (Kujo) gives a stunning performance, his cool demeanor matches sociopathic tendencies very well and make him believable as a ruthless and detached young man with little interest even in his own life. The clapping game will have anyone hold their breath and is shot in such a way as to make it even more disturbing. Arai (Hirofumi) is also very competent as the bosom body whose fall out seals his descent into darkness.A strong soundtrack adds to the impression of things going wrong in an artistic way. Juvenile delinquents or not the human aspect of boys in a sticky situation provides reasons for the viewer to see past the almost intrinsic seediness of it all. Ryuhei cutting Araki's hair as they discuss what to do when they grow up is surprisingly moving and the climax of the movie brings it all home in a painful but excellent way. Apart from these two leads there are minor characters that are equally interesting such as the sickly boy fascinated with worms (that despite being so peaceful frightens Kujo because he has a purpose), a psychopath in the making, the boy that wants to go to Koshien. All people that are adrift without guidelines.Grownups are not absent but they appear sparingly and only the little person teacher that teaches the boys how to water flowers is a positive influence. The focus is strongly placed on the young actors and they truly do shine.'Aoi Haru' is realistic despite being a very artistic movie. It should be seen back to back to Miike's 'Crows Zero' that is a take of the same concept in a much more fanciful and less bleak way. But 'Aoi' is brilliant in its own right by adhering so steadily to an ethos of bleakness and loss. Growing is, without a doubt, not easy.

I'm told the title Aoi Haru can be read two ways: "blue spring" or "teenage years". Anyway, I liked this movie. What I liked were the dark aspects of this movie and the attempts at symbolism. What I didn't like was the somewhat aimlessness of the plot and the attempts at symbolism. I find it a lot like "go" which also has Hirofumi Arai (Aoki). Both violent highschool movies. Some people have compared it to Battle Royale... although I think this has a better basis in reality. Someone mentioned this movie was strung together from several short manga stories, which makes sense, since we tend to jump through several character's story lines. It isn't necessarily a bad thing, as we get to see where each character is coming from and where they end up. The variety is nice but it I felt like the movie lost it's focus at points. Overall, though, I felt it draws the viewer in and manages to stay kinetic throughout. There was rarely a boring moment. Even a girl waiting for her boyfriend ended up being very amusing. The movie is rather violent and disturbing at points, but managed to still be funny and introspective. I'd probably recommend it to people who can still remember what highschool was like.

I watched this film for the first time a few nights ago, and it was still in my mind as i took my hour's long morning walk to work.it was still not enough time to properly reflect on what i'd just watched. it really touched me deep, it effected me as much as Battle Royale. even though i couldn't get subtitles on my computer the story was easy to pick up and i didn't realise i wasn't reading them. if i could strongly recommend any film other than 'Battle Royale', 'All about Lily Chou-Chou' and 'moonlight jellyfish', it would most definitely be this one.its quite a powerful film. there's more to the story than just whats on the surface and we get to see some of our most lovable Japanese actors play totally new roles. one of which is the lovely 'Sosuke Takaoka' who plays the slightly psychotic 'Yukio', who gives 'Kazuo Kiriyama' a run for his psycho-status.even though he goes out too early he is the one who sticks strongly in my mind,he can change such a simple little tune into one that is quite haunting.all the characters add something special to the film.in my opinion its too short.i love long films and would have liked to get to know a little more of each character,especially 'Yoshimura' ('Shugo Oshinari') 'Yukio' ('Sosuke Takaoka') and 'Takashi Tsukamoto's' character.the violence is strong but none the less kept realistic and believable right up until the breath-holding end,which kind of pulls on the heart-strings but doesn't disappoint in the quality of the ending, only for the fact that we're left with feeling of sadness for 'Aoki', one of the main characters.this film ends in totally the right way to be true to the film.this film was done with pure excellence and is capable of showing beauty through the darkest of violence.many people forget what its like for young kids growing up and the situations, challenges and decisions they have to face. this film can really bring you back down with a truthful slam to the ground.this is one story that will stay firmly set in my mind for a very long time and one that should be acknowledged,all the actors really pull of this film with the highest quality.other than the above mentioned Japanese films, you really will be hard pushed to find such a powerful film to beat this one,you will not be disappointed, guaranteed. Lisa Sawyer(21)

The closing night movie for the SF Indie Fest is a vaguely coming of age type drama, set entirely within the grounds of a Japanese boy's school. Here, the kids all run around in gangs, sleep in lectures and fight at break times. Every wall in the place is covered in graffiti. Ryuhei Matsuda (the effeminate guy from GOHATTO) stars as Kuja, a senior who becomes the school's official gang leader by winning at "The Clapping Game". This game involves the kids hanging from a railing on the edge of the school roof, letting go and seeing how many times they can clap their hands before their nerve fails and they grab back on.From here we follow the progress of his friends and enemies throughout a part of the school year, the challenges to his leadership and the pressure of the school system felt by everyone. There's a hell of a lot of violence goes on in the school, and we get the impression that life as a Japanese school boy is a difficult dangerous business.It's a pretty bleak and cheerless vision - between this and BATTLE ROYALE you'd be forgiven for thinking that the Japanese school system was on the point of explosion or collapse, with the youth as disaffected as they come. How close this is to reality I don't know, but the friend I saw it with tells me that the classroom scenes are pretty close to how it actually is.The cast all perform well - Ryuhei Matsuda has such a striking appearance that he doesn't really need to do anything to create an impression, and indeed he spends most of the movie being aloof and impenetrable. This contrasts with the energies and frustrations evident in the other characters, particulary his best friend Aoki.I enjoyed the movie a lot... good characters, and well filmed/scored, with interesting developments. It's based on a collection of autobiographical short stories from a manga artist, which shows a little bit in the episodic nature of the plot, but it's all weaved together well for the movie. Worth looking out for if you don't mind your high school movies nihilistic, violent and bleak.