A Touch of Fever (1993)

Seeing the end of this movie, I've increased my rating. It seems initially just a gentle-paced, interesting story of some male hustlers. However the seemingly bizarre ending is a very clever twist indeed, making the lead character (Tatsuru) confront his own character and the life he's leading, which is based on suppressing his real feelings. There's also an interesting twist before that involving one of his former "clients". I can't say more or I'll give the plot away. But I will say that this movie will repay careful watching and thought. It's more than just a pleasant amusement with some pleasant faced actors. I have to disagree with the other reviewer. I think the slow pace and the talking are all part of the build up to what is a thought-provoking ending. I hope I'm right in thinking that it's a good ending in the sense that people can only grow when they get insight into themselves and how true to themselves they are being in the life they are leading. For me that's a good ending and a meaningful movie.

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I wanted to like this more than I did. It wasn't a bad movie. However, there were a lot of long, drawn out scenes where people were just staring into space or talking about nothing...I think these scenes were supposed to add tension, or make you "feel" what was going on as opposed to telling you, but for me they just felt excessive. Also, I don't know if I'm just not bright or something, but I don't really understand what happens in the end. I didn't understand all of what happened in the movie, either. On the positive side, there were a few scenes that I think really worked, and I liked the acting for the most part. I did end up caring about one main character more than the other. The BL was mostly implied, not graphic, so if you're not into that, you don't have to worry about seeing something you don't want to see. This isn't porn disguised as drama. I think it's more about the way the characters view themselves and each other and what they are doing than anything else.

I doubt I'll rewatch this. For one thing, it's a bit long, aided by those long silences I talked about before. There were long bits of the movie where it felt like nothing was happening. The movie is old so the fashion is also a bit distracting. The main lead always has his pants belted practically at his throat, for instance.

When rating music, my first thought was "Was there any music in this?" So that's why it's such a low score.

Overall, I think people who are more into movies with an independent feel than I am will enjoy it more.

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in-spite of the subject, this wasn't as dark as i though it was gonna be - but its left me confused. cause as cut and dry the description is, its right and yet not...
Tatsuru has been a hustler longer then Shinichiro, but anyone in that profession can't have a soft heart - just to deal on the daily with "clients" and their "demands" one has to deaden ones feeling to do the "job" or one wouldn't last. so doubt Tatsuru (a 20 yr old - mind u) wasn't that disconnected from his emotions or even jaded - he just had enough time to work on the indifferent mask he wore - which little by little got chipped away until the end of the movie.

Shinichiro on the other hand wasn't explain any better - yeah he was infatuated with Tatsuru, but that wasn't what made him dislike his "job" - btw being a sex-worker aint a piece of cake, the f*ckers that pay for this service treat the workers as less then human (and u don't have to have first hand experience to get this sad fact)- they r demeaned, degraded and treated like reusable trash. even the most experienced person, with a strong sense of self would break-down given what they have to sufferer on the daily. so Shinichiro not liking or enjoying his chosen profession isn't shocking. his infatuation has little to nothing to do with his not wanting to sleep with every client unless he likes them - as he put it.
but his character isn't easy to understand - i didn't get why he was so belligerent, he might have been angry at his parents for no accepting him being gay - so he lashed out the only way he could throwing his new-profession in their faces and getting kicked out of the house (which considering his personality and actions throughout this movie, he already had one leg out of that house as is). it almost seemed like he was looking for a fight with the world and always pushing people away - even when Tatsuru (after hearing from Shinichiro bff that he loved him) tried to "pull him closer" Shinichiro physically pushed him away denying his feelings and took his stuff and left, rather live on the streets. so i didn't get from what he was running away or why.

the break-down at the end was inevitable, but what followed was confusing - like a "so what now" moment. after them making out at a clients request and Tatsuru coming undone - would think they would at least lean on each other and find an out of this way of life (that seemed they chose not out of desperation - but again i didn't get / understand much of their backstories and why they chose this line of work - considering they had parents that supported them idk) maybe seeing this more times will give me more clues into these two or maybe the subbed were at fault - so left confused ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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A film with a hazy message

This movie is packed with symbolism, and although there is some sort of meaning behind it all, it was to me, a film that simply lacked structure. The story is told in an unclear and roundabout way, which makes it hard to follow and understand.

There were numbers of dull scenes, due to the long duration of the clips. This style of filming is very common in old movies, but it would have been a lot easier to watch with more variations in the shots. There isn’t a clear conflict in the movie either. We know that there is some sort if inner conflict that the characters are each battling on their own, but it’s not clear what. The only time their emotions reached me, was in the final scenes of the movie with the last client.
There is also little to no character development. Shinichiro said he was going to quit prostitution, but never really did. Tatsuru never resolved the conflict with his family, and was unreadable throughout the whole movie.
So did they find what they were looking for at the end? No one knows.

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