Click here to copy URL

First Love

Hatsukoi

2019

Takashi Miike

Masataka Kubota, Shôta Sometani, Masanori Mimoto, Tuan Chun-Hao ...

6.1

2,353

Thriller. Action. Comedy. Romance Set over one night in Tokyo, the film will follow Leo, a young boxer down on his luck as he meets his ‘first love’ Monica, a call girl and an addict but still an innocent. Little does Leo know, Monica is unwittingly caught up in a drug-smuggling scheme, and the two are pursued through the night by a corrupt cop, a yakuza, his nemesis, and a female assassin sent by the Chinese Triads.

	Media	Author	Review
		Stephen Dalton The Hollywood Reporter	"Familiar territory for Miike, but never boring (...) Welcome back to the darkly funny, ultraviolent universe of Japanese pulp auteur "
		Glenn Kenny The New York Times	"[It] demonstrates that [Miike's] energy and inventiveness are still intact (...) An unusually satisfying romp."
		Allan Hunter Screendaily	"It is all so relentlessly, outrageously entertaining that it could represent one of the prolific Miike’s most commercial propositions in some time (...) [He] puts his foot to the pedal from the opening scenes"
		David Ehrlich IndieWire	"A piece of work so feral and full of life that you’d never guess it was (at least) the 90th feature its director has made in the last 30 years (...) hasn’t lost any of his lust for life, and he still finds new ways to surprise.
		Jessica Kiang Variety	"[It] may be a fluffier, more eager-to-please bauble than Miike’s more challengingly outré titles, but (...) it is wired to explode, and it is a blast."
		Rory O'Connor The Film Stage	"[It] is probably Miike at his most accessible. He appears to have reined in his more experimental tendencies here (hey, we all gotta pay the bills) to offer a taste of his more playful side.
		Joe Lipsett Bloody Disgusting	"Fans of [Miike] oeuvre may find this film a little more commercially-oriented (...) but for those who have been afraid to dip their toe into his particular brand of crazy, [it] is a very accessible place to start (…) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 5)"
		Peter Bradshaw The Guardian	"The torrent of wacky creativity, means that there is always something to hold the attention. It’s bizarre and very unwholesome. But weirdly inspired (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Robbie Collin Telegraph	"Miike is a master of inducing tonal whiplash in his audience, and much of the fun of 'First Love' comes from its determination to keep the viewer on his or her toes at all times (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Justin Chang Los Angeles Times	"A joyous piece of filmmaking, a demented, multitasking little scherzo"
		Mike D'Angelo AV Club	"One of Takashi Miike’s most madly entertaining movies (...) Few directors exhibit this much energy and inventiveness in their first feature. To see it in someone’s 103rd is inspiring."

Return to movie

We encourage you to check the reviews' original sources. Intellectual property rights of these reviews belong to their authors and/or the correspondent media from which they have been extracted. If you'd like to help us to add more reviews to your favorite movies, just send us a message.