River of Fireflies

River of Fireflies

The boy sees the fate of men. The girl knows how women's lives are.

1987 · 115 min · ★ 9.0 · Drama

During the winter in Toyama in 1962, Tatsuo Mizushima is fretting about his feelings for his classmate Eiko Tsujisawa while agonizing about his upcoming high school examinations. When he was little, he and Eiko had heard that in April of a year when the winter has been very harsh, any couple finding fireflies together needs to get married. However, his family's situation does not allow Tatsuo to continue his worrying about such things for very much longer.

Directed by Eizō Sugawa · Written by Kyōhei Nakaoka

Your Rating

Cast

Make it a double feature

4h 3m together

River of Fireflies

Sea of Wandering

Both from Eizō Sugawa.

More from Eizō SugawaSee all →

Adults Cannot Understand - Record of Youth

Adults Cannot Understand - Record of Youth · 1958

Adults Cannot Understand - Record of Youth

The first work of 27-year-old director Eizo Sugawa, contrasting a politician father and his son, a drummer in a student band. It depicts the conflict between old and new morals, and the lives of young people.

A Dangerous Hero

A Dangerous Hero · 1957

A Dangerous Hero

After the son of a wealthy man is kidnapped, a tenacious young reporter decides to find the culprit.

Japan's No. 1 Traitor

Japan's No. 1 Traitor · 1968

Japan's No. 1 Traitor

The sixth "Japan's No. 1 Man" feature. Followed by "Japan’s No. 1 Disconnected Man".

Sea of Wandering

Sea of Wandering · 1990

Sea of Wandering

Set in Osaka just after the end of the war, the story depicts an unconventional merchant who returns from evacuation. The film is based on the novel of the same name written by Teru Miyamoto, and the screenplay was written by Eizo Sugawa, who also wrote "Horagawa". The director is Takeichi Saito, who also directed "Kawachi no Osan no Uta: Yokita no Ware". Kozo Okazaki, who worked on "I am a Cat," is in charge of the cinematography.

Challenge to Live

Challenge to Live · 1961

Challenge to Live

An employee at an oil cartel (Mihashi) is haunted by an act years before when he euthanized a fellow soldier when the two were adrift at sea during the Pacific War. Matters are complicated further when he falls in love with the soldier's younger sister (Tsukasa).

The Sun is Calling You

The Sun is Calling You · 1963

The Sun is Calling You

A man with a dark past comes from Tokyo to the fishing port of Izu, and tries to begin a new life as a fisherman.

Black Comedy - Ah, Fool

Black Comedy - Ah, Fool · 1969

Black Comedy - Ah, Fool

A timid salaryman is the subject of this black comedy.

You Can Succeed, Too

You Can Succeed, Too · 1964

You Can Succeed, Too

MovieMusicComedy

A group of friends try to find success in corporate Japan.

Summer Clouds

Summer Clouds · 1958

A war widow with a young boy manages a farm with her bossy mother-in-law. When a reporter comes to interview her, the two begin an affair. He turns out to be married and won't leave his wife. Her older brother tries to marry off his children and hang on to/ extend his farm through an advantageous marriage in the face of threatened land confiscation and the desire of his children to get comfortable urban jobs instead of the backbreaking work in the paddy fields under parental control.

23 Steps to Bed

23 Steps to Bed · 1962

23 Steps to Bed

An ambitious young woman uses her sex appeal to solve financial problems in her family, including a brother in debt to the yakuza, and a father who stole money from his firm to repay his son's debt.

Get 'em All

Get 'em All · 1960

Gang of robbers quarrel about the loot, but when one of them gets killed, his younger brother seeks them out to ice them one by one.

Beast Alley

Beast Alley · 1965

Desperate to escape her grueling life caring for her paralyzed husband, Tamiko murders him and burns down their home to start anew. She is soon entangled in the dark web of an influential, elderly power broker, becoming his mistress and a pawn in his political schemes. As she descends further into a downward spiral of moral decay, Tamiko realizes that the freedom she sought is merely a new form of entrapment.

The Beast Shall Die

The Beast Shall Die · 1974

The Beast Shall Die

MovieThrillerCrime

Kunihiko Date, a young criminal genius, puts a perfect crime plan into action to take revenge on the men who once drove his father to ruin.

Japan's No. 1 Disconnected Man

Japan's No. 1 Disconnected Man · 1969

Japan's No. 1 Disconnected Man

Maruyama, a day laborer, is living on an abandoned ship at the port of Osaka when he meets an elusive man offering a job.

The Black Battlefront Kidnappers

The Black Battlefront Kidnappers · 1973

The Black Battlefront Kidnappers

MovieActionCrime

A taut, economical policier-cum-gang-hostage thriller.

The Beast Shall Die

The Beast Shall Die · 1959

The Beast Shall Die

MovieCrimeDrama

A promising post-graduate literature student is transformed into a psychotic killer following the suicide of his father and a sleazy affair by his mother with a younger man.

More Like This

Couldn't load this row right now.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter