I Hate But I Love

I Hate But I Love (1962) is the third installment in the Eclipse Series 28: The Warped World of Koreyoshi Kurahara, and so far my least favorite. However, that's not to say that there is nothing worthwhile about the production. My main complaint lies in the fact it is was conceived as a conventional star vehicle for two of the biggest stars of the day in Yujiro Ishihara and Ruriko Asaoka. Ishihara plays Dasaku Katu a multi-media star that was cultivated by his manager-girlfriend Noriko Sakakita (Asaoka). They have decided to avoid kissing and sex and they are getting frustrated and bored by the lifestyle of hard work and no release-Kurahara finds plenty of opportunities to have them have dressed despite these limitations. Dasaku decides to take up a an offer to drive a jeep for a woman living in Tokyo to a doctor, whom she is having a long distance romance with, living in the mountains of Kyushu. Noriko tries to stop him and bring him back to fulfill commitments for his career in the media and as a result becomes a media sensation himself as his story is covered by all outlets of the media. The movie become more interesting for me when Ishihara starts driving south-this is the only film from the series in color-and the images of a postwar Japan before the economic miracle are fascinating to see. The viewer is treated to undeveloped locations from Tokyo to Kyushu, but also major landmarks in Oasaka, Kyoto, and Kyushu while exposing the viewer to the types of cars, ferries, and roadside stops of that era. The culmination of the story in the green mountains of Kyushu is impressive.