First Love

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First Love

2019

1h 48m

Crime

Drama

Comedy

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Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

98%

Tomatometer

121 Reviews

88%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Verified Ratings

One night in Tokyo, a self-confident young boxer and a prostitute get caught up in a drug-smuggling plot involving organized crime, corrupt cops and a female assassin.

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Critics Consensus

First Love's blend of violence, comedy, and romance might seem disparate -- but for director Takashi Miike, it's just another wildly entertaining entry in a filmography full of them.

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

03/03/2020

4/5

Yes, it's preposterous and at times hyper-violent, but the tongue is always firmly in its cheek. Until it's cut out.

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Mark Kermode

Kermode & Mayo's Film Review

02/20/2020

A small release, but if you're looking for something different to see, please let me recommend this one. It's not like any other film out.

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Simran Hans

Observer (UK)

02/16/2020

4/5

Kôji Endô's thundering jazz-rock score amplifies Miike's tendency towards playful cartoon excess.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Jun 10

4/5

... tough, silly, violent and thoughtful by turns; if you enjoy extreme cinema, find someone who feels the same, kick back, and enjoy the internecine world of First Love...it’s an ideal introduction to Takashi Miike and the auteur’s work...

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Dolores Quintana

Dolores Quintana

12/28/2022

This film is not only an excellent addition to Asian crime or Yakuza cinema, but it is also a rip-roaring comedy with a big beating heart.

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Dan Bayer

Next Best Picture

05/13/2022

7/10

Every time Miike could go completely off the rails, he reins himself in, pulling back where barging ahead would make this an even more memorable (if messier) experience.

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john c

10/18/2019

Not enough violence / I wanted a yakuza blood bath!

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Lúcio Leonardo P

@Lucio 11/16/2024

Entertainment that pleases as an action film, even if the plot uses the stereotypical romance based on its short story. It's violent, brutal, with well-orchestrated fights and a plot with accusations between the lines. We have a fable that uses comical attempts (with small successes) to provide a certain relief in its aggressiveness and that works well with the cliché of first love, in the last yakuza.

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Darren D

@DarrenJD 02/19/2024

"First Love" a brilliant & dark humoured love story from Takashi Miike & if you're familiar with his work, it's made in the manner you would expect, with blood, gore & severed heads, as two young down on their luck people accidentally come together & get tangled up with courrpt cops, stolen drugs & gang warfare.

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Gareth D

@HiGarethDavies 07/16/2023

Absolutely insane, weird, dark, gory and fast-paced. Loved it.

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william d

@acsdoug 02/21/2023

I got a real kick out of this one.

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Becca S

@RT27187003 01/06/2023

Miike in the style of a Tarantino crime film and it goes hard!

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Takashi Miike

Director

Masataka Kubota

Leo

Nao Ômori

Otomo

Shôta Sometani

Kase

Jun Murakami

Ichikawa

Sansei Shiomi

Actor

First Love: Movie Clip - Hit it!

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First Love: Movie Clip - Cat Out of the Bag

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First Love: Trailer 1

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First Love: Teaser Trailer 1

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Synopsis

One night in Tokyo, a self-confident young boxer and a prostitute get caught up in a drug-smuggling plot involving organized crime, corrupt cops and a female assassin.

Director: Takashi Miike
Producer: Misako Saka, Jeremy Thomas
Screenwriter: Masa Nakamura
Distributor: Well Go USA
Production Co: Oriental Light and Magic, Recorded Picture Company (RPC)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Comedy
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 27, 2019, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 24, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $218.3K
Runtime: 1h 48m

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