The debut feature from Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car, Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy), one of today’s preeminent auteurs, examines a series of intersecting love triangles as only he can, plunging headlong into the exposed-nerve confessions and unrequited attachments among a group of thirtysomethings. It begins when a couple, Kaho (Aoba Kawai) and Tomoya (Ryuta Okamoto), announce their engagement to their friends over dinner, where it’s also revealed the groom had an affair years earlier. While the two spend the evening apart, Tomoya follows his friends to the apartment of his former classmate (Fusako Urabe, Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy), with whom he’s in love, and are led into ever more vulnerable and shocking exchanges of emotional honesty. Though it was made as his student thesis project at Tokyo University of the Arts, Passion displays Hamaguchi’s rich and nuanced insight into modern relationships while establishing the thematic foundations for his later films such as Happy Hour, Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, and Drive My Car.
BONUS FEATURES
- Introduction by director Ryusuke Hamaguchi
- “From Passion to Fortune” video essay by film and theatre writer Kenji Fujishima
And we’re giving away three copies!
To enter, send an email with the subject header “PASSION” to geekcontest @ gmail dot com and answer the following question:
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi became the third Japanese filmmaker to be nominated for an Academy Award for
Best Director after his nomination for Drive My Car. Who were the other two directors?
Please include your name, and address (U.S. only. You must be 18 years old).
Only one entry per person and a winner will be chosen at random.
Contest ends at 11:59 PM EST on October 29th, 2023.
Passion is available now
