| A Touch of Fever | |
| Director: | Ryōsuke Hashiguchi |
| Producer: | Akira Ishigaki |
| Starring: | Yoshihiko Hakamada Masashi Endō Reiko Kataoka Sumiyo Yamada |
| Music: | Akira Isono Ryūji Murayama Kōhei Shinozaki |
| Cinematography: | Jun'ichi Tozawa |
| Editing: | Hiroshi Matsuo |
| Runtime: | 114 minutes |
| Country: | Japan |
| Language: | Japanese |
is a Japanese film directed by Ryosuke Hashiguchi, starring Yoshihiko Hakamada and Masashi Endō. It was released in 1993.
It was shot on 16 millimeter film with a small budget and no payment for the actors or the director. It was awarded a PFF Scholarship (which supports the production of one film for theatrical release each year).[1] It was then screened in Berlin Film Festival.[2]
Tatsuru and Shinichirō are two young male hustlers in Japan. The older one, Tatsuru, disconnects himself from his emotions in order to perform his job. The younger Shinichirō, meanwhile, grows uncomfortable with the work once he has fallen in love with Tatsuru. After Shinichirō gets thrown out of his parents' house, he stays at Tatsuru's apartment, and their once casual relationship awkwardly develops into something else.
The film was a commercial success, surprising given its subject matter. It was nothing less than a breakthrough for real life gay-oriented films in Japan, as well as Okoge (1992) and Kira kira Hikaru (also known as Twinkle) in 1992.[2] [3] The film also introduced the word 'gay' into Japanese society.[4]