Boy
1969 · Movie · 98 min · ★ 7.2 · 95% critics
A struggling family survives by staging car accidents and pressuring drivers into quick payouts. As the scheme grows riskier, the story follows a child caught between loyalty, fear, and a private fantasy life that offers escape from a harsh home.
Where to watch
Streaming on The Criterion Channel.
2 hours to watch.
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Details
- Original title
- 少年
- Years
- 1969
- Release date
- 1969-07-26
- Language
- Japanese
- Runtime
- 98 min
- Critic score
- 95/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.2/10 (58 votes)
About
You may like this if you’re open to bleak, unsettling family dramas with an offbeat, dreamlike edge, especially if titles like Death by Hanging appeal to you; Not for you if you want warmth, comfort, or easy heroes.
Pros: compelling true-crime basis; unsettling atmosphere; strong child performance | Cons: bleak subject matter; cold, abrasive characters; odd structure
Themes
- child abuse
- dysfunctional family
- cons and scams
- child endangerment
- faked accidents
- family travels
- marital strife
Cast & crew
Fumio Watanabe
as Father
Akiko Koyama
as Stepmother
Tetsuo Abe
as Boy
- TK
Takeshi Kinoshota
as Younger Brother
Yun Yun-Do
as Victim (uncredited)
- LC
LoLo Cannon
as (uncredited)
Directed by Nagisa Ōshima