The Story of Pure Love
Nominees and Awards
- ★ 1958 Best Director, Berlin International Film Festival
- ★ 1958 Best Director, Blue Ribbon Awards
Synopsis
The Story of Pure Love is set in postwar Japan, a time of social upheaval and economic hardship. It follows two impoverished youths, Mitsuko and Kando, who rebel against a rigid and unforgiving society in their desperate quest to stay together. As societal outcasts, they survive on the margins—living as petty thieves and low-wage laborers, unable to find stability or acceptance. Their love, pure yet tested by relentless adversity, becomes their only refuge. The film powerfully depicts their struggles within Japan’s reformatory system and the growing despair brought on by Mitsuko’s worsening illness, capturing a haunting portrait of love and resistance amid the ruins of a recovering nation.
◎ This film is presented in collaboration with the Kaohsiung Film Festival, the Japan–Taiwan Exchange Association Kaohsiung Office, and the Japan Foundation.
Team
Director
IMAI Tadashi
IMAI Tadashi (1912-1991) was a Japanese film director known for social realist filmmaking informed by a left-wing perspective. His most notable films include An Inlet of Muddy Water (1953) and Bushido, Samurai Saga (1963).
Schedule
| Cinema | Auditorium | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaohsiung Film Archive | 3F Screening Room | 2025/10/13 Monday 16:40 | ▲ |
| Kaohsiung Film Archive | 3F Screening Room | 2025/10/15 Wednesday 16:20 | ▲ |
| Kaohsiung Film Archive | 3F Screening Room | 2025/10/23 Thursday 19:40 | ▲ |
※ Notes: ★ With filmmakers' attendance/talks ▲ Non-English language films without English subtitles