69 Sixty Nine

The energetic and heartwarming 69 Sixty Nine starts with a wonderful title animation and searing 1960s guitar music. It is 1969, in Sasebo, Nagasaki, and Ken and his friends try to break into an American army base. Inspired by Bob Dylan, Godard and Che Guevara, the quick-witted Ken and his ‘gang’ also take up arms against the school management. They want more say, more freedom, and organise a festival at school, a kind of combination of film, theatre and pop music. These nice guys, however, tend to confuse the concept of ‘freedom’ with ‘bare tits’, because Ken’s main goal is Kazuko, the prettiest girl in the school. Ken wants to organise a rebellion and barricade the school to make an impression on her. The books by beat writer Ryo Murakami (not to be confused with namesake Haruki), a good source of films in Japan, have resulted in Miike Takashi’s Audition and Tokyo Decadence, a film that Murakami directed himself. 69 Sixty Nine, with a choice selection of Japanese acting talent, offers a more innocent and funnier look at the world than the other films mentioned. The only threat here comes in the form of a strict gym teacher and possible suspension from school… (SdH)