Deaths in Tokimeki (1984)

Deaths in Tokimeki (1984)

A mysterious young man (played by pop star Kenji Sawada) descends upon a sleepy northern Japanese town. He is welcomed by a middle-aged man (Naoki Sugiura) who is backed financially by a shadowy organization and who tends to the young man’s needs while they stay in an empty villa. When a young woman (Kanako Higuchi), also sent by the organization, shows up, a peculiar co-habitation begins, and the young man prepares for the deadly hit job that he was sent to execute. A visually arresting mood piece lensed by Yonezō Maeda (The Family Game) who, along with Morita, pulls out all the stops. The 360-degree tracking shot around an actual driving car remains a cinematographic marvel, and the film is set to a dreamy 1980s synth soundtrack by Osamu Shiomura.