One Way Ticket to Love (1959) - Hulu Plus

Criterion had a 50% off sale.  I took that as an opportunity to finally try Hulu Plus since they have a lot of Criterion films on there.  I could sample the first 20 minutes of films I might find worth buying.  I will maybe come back to this neglected blog to talk about them.  But I have this trial and I did queue up in just the Criterion films: 159 films.  That's a lot of movies.  It's certainly longer than just a 2 week trial.  I'll go ahead and pay for one month, why not?  I'm certainly getting my money's worth. 

Hulu doesn't really advertise that they have Criterion and Janus films on there.  They do in abundance.  The best I've experienced so far is One Way Ticket To Love.  I wish I could read the Japanese title, but I can't.

I'm going to try and not spoil it.  But if I fail at that stop at this paragraph.  It is a Japanese film from 1959.  It is something of a love story.  It is something of a marketing tool for the same title single.  In 2014 it is a fantastic B-movie experience.  In the context of 1959 it is astounding it exists.  All the characters have more depth then you expect.  It is above all a tragedy.

Now I'm going to try and talk about the actual film without spoiling it.  The main theme throughout is Japanese culture's guilt duty.  Very good sociological term I made there.  Because of being given an opportunity a character is required to do one thing.  Because of the social bubble they have entered into they are now part of that social bubble.  That social bubble requires they do another.  Each character also has a life outside of that social bubble.

I said it was a love story.  It's a love story in the same way that Romeo and Juliet is a love story. So it's a lust story. Yes, Rudie, I guess you could say that. The various loves in the story line up with the guilt duty into making a Wire style poster board of allegiences and debts. 

Each character feels like a stereotype seen in various films of the time.  They rise above it to become people that you believe in their actions.  While you could say that almost every problem in the film is solved by just walking away most of them can't and by J-society they definitely can't. 

NOW ANOTHER LAYER OF SPOILING BUT NOT

A gun will eventually makes its appearance.  It will begin to change hands.  The predicted target of the gun will continue to change.  Eventually the gun goes off.  And then the film ends.  The ending shot is heartbreaking. 

I'm having such a good time thinking about this film.  I'm going to have to get a copy somehow.  It's only on HuluPlus.  If this is the best film I get out of the experience that's okay.  It is a fantastic film.  I want other people to see it so I can talk to them about it.