Shinji Sōmai

Shinji Sōmai

Shinji Sōmai (相米 慎二, Sōmai Shinji, 13 January 1948 – 9 September 2001) was a Japanese film director. He was born in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, and was brought up in Hokkaido. Somai began his career in 1975 as an assistant director with Nikkatsu Co., one of Japan's leading film production companies, after he dropped out of Chuo University. Somai made made his debut as a director in 1980 with The Terrible Couple - an adaptation of a popular boys' manga of the time. The film deals with the trials and tribulations of adolescence, presaging a long thread of Somai works in which young people are called upon to test their capabilities while discovering the unreliable nature of adult society. In Somai's hands, children and teenagers are always treated and presented sympathetically and seriously. An actor's director from the start, Somai's trademark was a use of long takes, usually involving constantly-moving and spectacularly sweeping shots, which he felt allowed his cast to achieve the proper mood for scenes which would have been ruined by excessively quick editing. Perhaps the most extraordinary use of this technique is to be found in his 1985 film Lost Chapter of Snow: Passion (one of three of his films released that year), in which Somai uses an apparently single fourteen-minute take to reveal a succession of significant events in one character's childhood. The best of Somai's films often straddle genres, taking off in unpredictable directions toward stimulating destinations. Somai directed 13 films between 1980 and 2000. He died of lung cancer at 53.

  • Title: Shinji Sōmai
  • Popularity: 2.755
  • Known For: Directing
  • Birthday: 1948-01-13
  • Place of Birth: Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, Japan
  • Homepage:
  • Also Known As: Jiro Sugita, 杉田二郎, Синдзи Сомай
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Shinji Sōmai Movies

  • 1981
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    Sailor Suit and Machine Gun

    Sailor Suit and Machine Gun

    6.9 1981 HD

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  • 1985
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    Typhoon Club

    Typhoon Club

    6.5 1985 HD

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  • 1983
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    P. P. Rider

    P. P. Rider

    5.4 1983 HD

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  • 1993
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    Moving

    Moving

    7.1 1993 HD

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  • 1994
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    The Friends

    The Friends

    7.3 1994 HD

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  • 1985
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    Love Hotel

    Love Hotel

    6.6 1985 HD

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  • 1985
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    Lost Chapter of Snow: Passion

    Lost Chapter of Snow: Passion

    6 1985 HD

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  • 1998
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    Wait and See

    Wait and See

    6 1998 HD

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  • 2000
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    Kaza-hana

    Kaza-hana

    5.3 2000 HD

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  • 1990
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    Tokyo Heaven

    Tokyo Heaven

    7.2 1990 HD

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  • 1980
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    Dreamy Fifteen

    Dreamy Fifteen

    5.7 1980 HD

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  • 1983
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    The Catch

    The Catch

    6.2 1983 HD

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  • 1985
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    愛しい女

    愛しい女

    1 1985 HD

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  • 1979
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    The Man Who Stole the Sun

    The Man Who Stole the Sun

    7.3 1979 HD

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  • 1976
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    The Youth Killer

    The Youth Killer

    6.5 1976 HD

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  • 1987
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    Luminous Woman

    Luminous Woman

    5 1987 HD

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  • 1979
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    Grass Labyrinth

    Grass Labyrinth

    7.3 1979 HD

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  • 1975
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    100 High School Girls: Secret Motel Report

    100 High School Girls: Secret Motel Report

    1 1975 HD

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  • 1975
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    100 High School Girls: Secret Motel Report

    100 High School Girls: Secret Motel Report

    1 1975 HD

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  • 1975
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    Hostess Confidential: Three Juicy Sisters

    Hostess Confidential: Three Juicy Sisters

    1 1975 HD

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  • 1979
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    Almost Transparent Blue

    Almost Transparent Blue

    6 1979 HD

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  • 1976
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    Late Bloom: Campus Erotica

    Late Bloom: Campus Erotica

    1 1976 HD

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  • 1975
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    Lesbian World: Fondling

    Lesbian World: Fondling

    1 1975 HD

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