A Touch of Fever

A Touch of Fever 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. It was then screened in Berlin Film Festival.

Plot

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.

Cast

Yoshihiko Hakamada as Tatsuru Shimamori
Masashi Endō as Shinichirō Miyajima
Reiko Kataoka as Yoriko Suzuki
Sumiyo Yamada as Atsumi
Kōji Satō as Master
Bunmei Harada as Kawakubo
Kōta Kusano as Takashi
Yōichi Kawaguchi as Ōta
Hiroshi Okōchi as Customer
Tarō Ishida as Yoriko's Father
Wakaba Irie as Yoriko's Mother

Reception

Reaction in Japan

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 and Kira kira Hikaru in 1992. The film also introduced the word 'gay' into Japanese society.