青の炎 Ao no Honō

Title: 青の炎 Ao no Honō
English Title: Blue Light
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Year: 2003
Cast:

• 二宮和也 Ninomiya Kazunari
• 松浦亜弥 Matsūra Aya
• 秋吉久美子 Akiyoshi Kumiko
• 鈴木杏 Suzuki An
• 竹中直人 Takenaka Naoto
• 中村梅雀 Nakamura Baijaku
• 唐沢寿明 Karasawa Toshiaki
• 東儀秀樹 Togi Hideki

SYNOPSIS

Pink Floyd - The Post War Dream

Kushimori Shūichi is 17 years old and a high school student. He lives with his mother Kushimori Yūko and his younger sister Kushimori Haruka.

His estranged stepfather Sone Takashi suddenly comes to live in their house, even though he is already divorced from Shūichi's mother. Shūichi is working hard to think of ways to get rid of his abusive stepfather.

REVIEW
Ao no Honō is an interesting movie about a young psychopath who wanted to kill someone because he thinks it's the only viable way out of the current situation. Kushimori Shūichi tried to get rid of his estranged stepfather Sone Takashi through legal means but when he found out that he couldn't do so, he resorted to other options.

Shūichi may be a typical teenager on the outset but he has very strong opinions. He thinks that you sometimes have to use force if people won't listen because you have to draw the line somewhere, and that committing murder requires imagination.

Although I don't quite agree with Shūichi's decision to kill someone, it is easy to see where he's coming from because he's only trying to protect his mother Kushimori Yūko and his younger sister Kushimori Haruka.

Actually, I was quite impressed with his relentless efforts to make things happen because he researched extensively and he even did some experiments. If only he thought things through even further, he could have easily gotten away with murder.

However, even though I understand why he wanted to kill his abusive stepfather, I really don't want him to commit the perfect crime and evade arrest. It just doesn't seem right for him to commit a crime and escape punishment.

Anyway, I think the only circumstance where it may be acceptable to kill someone is when your own life is threatened and you have to defend yourself, and even then, only if running away is not an option. There just doesn't seem to be any justification to taking a life.

Fukuhara Noriko: I can't think of anyone I would want to kill. But I guess, people get caught up in situations where they are forced to kill.

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青の炎 Ao no Honō