Film – Summer Vacation 1999

Summer Vacation 1999 brims with a mesmerizing and mystical evocation of youth, existing in a world unto itself. A loose adaptation of Moto Hagio’s legendary shojo manga The Heart of Thomas scripted by longtime Terayama collaborator Rio Kishida, Shusuke Kaneko’s reworking casts a group of young actresses in the roles of schoolboys, the only occupants of an all-boys boarding school during summer break. Haunted by the recent suicide of a schoolmate, the group finds itself in disbelief when a new occupant arrives—one who uncannily resembles their dead classmate. A confrontation of life and death, dispersed into a world of light, of illusion, of truth and fantasy—Kaneko’s lush and androgynous work is imbued with a timeless essence, recalling the unforgettable occurrences of a summer past.

Dir. Shusuke Kaneko, 1988, 90 min., 35mm, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Eri Miyajima, Tomoko Ohtakara, Miyuki Nakano, Eri Fukatsu. Screenplay by Rio Kishida.