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Drama

If You Were Young: Rage (1970): Cast & Plot

If You Were Young: Rage (1970) movie poster

If You Were Young: Rage is a 1970 drama directed by Kinji Fukasaku, starring Gin Maeda as Asao Suzuki, Tetsuo Ishidate and Toru Minegishi. It runs 1 hour 29 minutes.

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If You Were Young: Rage (1970) movie poster
Released
Runtime
1h 29m (89 min)
Director
Kinji Fukasaku
Genre
Drama
Original language
Japanese
After the credits
No No extra scene
The story

What Is If You Were Young: Rage About?

The premise of If You Were Young: Rage without spoilers. The whole story is in the plot summary further down.

If You Were Young: Rage examines the underside of post‑war Japan’s boom, following three aimless youths who band together to save for a dump‑truck and become independent contractors. Their dream unravels as one lands in jail, another faces police brutality, and the third starts a family. Director Kinji Fukasaku blends French New Wave’s freewheeling energy with the detached cool of American noir, creating an early‑career masterpiece about ambition and hardship.

If You Were Young: Rage Themes & Keywords

· 50 tags
  • yakuza
  • watching tv
  • drunkenness
  • waiter
  • violence
  • unemployment
  • tv news
  • truck
  • truck driver
  • truck accident
  • torture
  • tokyo japan
+38 more
  • tears
  • surrogate mother
  • stutter
  • strike breaker
  • split screen
  • sling
  • shovel
  • sex
  • saxophone
  • running
  • riot
  • revenge
  • rape
  • rain
  • prison
  • pregnancy
  • police
  • policeman
  • photograph
  • pain
  • nudity
  • murder
  • montage
  • money
  • miner
  • mine disaster
  • male female relationship
  • lucky charm
  • loan
  • lie
  • liar
  • labor strike
  • knife
  • jail
  • independence
  • husband wife relationship
  • hit by a truck
  • hit and run
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Cast & crew

If You Were Young: Rage Cast & Characters

Gin Maeda leads the cast as Asao Suzuki, with Tetsuo Ishidate as Kikuo Higuchi and Toru Minegishi as Ryuji Kitano. Directed by Kinji Fukasaku; 14 actors are credited in all.

From the director

More from Kinji Fukasaku

More films directed by Kinji Fukasaku, best-rated first: Tora! Tora! Tora!, Battle Royale, Battle Royale II: Requiem and Battle Royale.

Full filmography
Plot

If You Were Young: Rage Plot Summary

What happens in If You Were Young: Rage from start to finish, spoilers included, with a timeline of 14 key events. The opening is below; the full summary is a 3-minute read.

Spoilers ahead

After years of low pay in factories, Asao Suzuki and his long-time friend Kikuo Higuchi pool their earnings to buy their own dump truck, which they proudly nickname Independence No. 1. They pay monthly installments on it from the profits of their growing transportation work, savoring a hard-won sense of autonomy. As they ride this brief wave of happiness, they often reflect on their old friends Kiyoshi Yabe, Ichiro, and Ryuji Kitano, who once shared the same dormitory and rough dreams.

Full summary

The whole story of If You Were Young: Rage, scene by scene

Read the full summary
Quiz

How Well Do You Know If You Were Young: Rage?

10 questions about the story, each with a hint if you get stuck. Pick an answer to see whether you were right.

Question 1 of 10

  1. Question 1: not answered
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  5. Question 5: not answered
  6. Question 6: not answered
  7. Question 7: not answered
  8. Question 8: not answered
  9. Question 9: not answered
  10. Question 10: not answered

What nickname do the two friends give to their dump truck?

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FAQ

If You Were Young: Rage FAQ: Cast, Runtime & Release Date

Runtime, release date, director, cast, post-credit scenes and language of If You Were Young: Rage, each answered in a sentence.

How long is If You Were Young: Rage?

If You Were Young: Rage runs 1 hour 29 minutes (89 minutes).

When was If You Were Young: Rage released?

If You Were Young: Rage was released on May 27, 1970.

Who directed If You Were Young: Rage?

If You Were Young: Rage was directed by Kinji Fukasaku.

More films by Kinji Fukasaku

Who is in the cast of If You Were Young: Rage?

If You Were Young: Rage stars Gin Maeda as Asao Suzuki, Tetsuo Ishidate as Kikuo Higuchi and Toru Minegishi as Ryuji Kitano, among 14 credited actors.

Does If You Were Young: Rage have a post-credit scene?

No. If You Were Young: Rage has no extra scene during or after the credits.

What language is If You Were Young: Rage in?

The original language of If You Were Young: Rage is Japanese.

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