Hazy Life

On a windy and deserted car park in Osaka a boy called Tsutomu meets a boy called Kikohiko. The first is a regular visitor to the pachinko amusement arcade, the second has one of the strangest rock ‘n’ roll haircuts ever. He turns out also to be involved in the production of pinku, Japanese erotic films. The two get on well. Kikohiko offers to let Tsutomu make copies of pinku videos. And also to act in a video like that with their girlfriend Aiko. Tsutomu has his doubts about whether he can do it. But Aiko is enthusiastic: ‘We’re going to make real erotic cinema, no porn, we’ll show some real passion not just those big tits.’ Yamashita’s début film is filled with youthful lazybones. As a schoolboy Yamashita was already a fan of the kids who populated American films in the seventies. For his film he created a few appealing characters who aimlessly waste time, go out, watch some TV, dream a lot, don’t get much going and have many incoherent and often hilarious conversations. For them every day is a Sunday. Yamashita’s low-budget approach to cinema contributes to the authenticity of the film. Hazy Life is fresh and appealing and the characters are very true to life.