is a 1988 Japanese

romantic drama film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typica ...

directed by

Shusuke Kaneko is a Japanese filmmaker. Life and career Shūsuke Kaneko was born in Tokyo on June 8, 1955. According to the biography on his official website Kaneko was interested in science fiction, particularly Godzilla and Gamera films, from a young age. ...

, based on the

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series ''

The Heart of Thomas is a 1974 Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Moto Hagio. Originally serialized in '' Shūkan Shōjo Comic'', a weekly manga magazine publishing ''shōjo'' manga (manga aimed at young and adolescent women), the series follows ...

'' by

Moto Hagio is a Japanese manga artist. Regarded for her contributions to ''shōjo'' manga ( manga aimed at young and adolescent women), Hagio is considered the most significant artist in the demographic and among the most influential manga artists of a ...

. It follows the lives of four students at a remote all-boys boarding school after one of their classmates commits

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

. Although the manga concerns

homoerotic Homoeroticism is sexual attraction between members of the same sex, either male–male or female–female. The concept differs from the concept of homosexuality: it refers specifically to the desire itself, which can be temporary, whereas "homose ...

relationships among the boys, director Kaneko used girls, aged 14 to 16, to portray the boys in the film.

Cast

Eri Miyajima is a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo, Japan. She voices Guren in '' Naruto: Shippuden'', and Kana in '' Haibane Renmei''. Filmography Anime television * '' Kero Kero Chime'' (1997), Pika Pika * '' Popolocrois Monogatari'' (1998), Hyuu * ''Th ...

as Yu / Kaoru **

Minami Takayama is a Japanese voice actress, narrator and singer who is currently affiliated with 81 Produce. She is also the main vocalist of Two-Mix and ES CONNEXION when it was active. Her uncle is a former New Japan Pro-Wrestling managing director Hisashi Sh ...

as the voice of Yu / Kaoru * as Kazuhiko **

Nozomu Sasaki is a Japanese voice actor and singer. He is represented by the voice actor management firm, 81 Produce, and was previously represented by Arts Vision. In 1988, he voiced the character Tetsuo Shima in the movie '' Akira'', which was adapted fro ...

as the voice of Kazuhiko * as Naoto **

Hiromi Murata is a Japanese actress and voice actress. Filmography *1994: '' It's a Summer Vacation Everyday'' - ''Adult voice of Horsetail'' (voice only) *1996: '' Gamera 2: Attack of Legion'' - Additional Role - (Kaiju film) Voice roles Anime *'' Bigman' ...

as the voice of Naoto *

Eri Fukatsu is a Japanese actress. She won the award for best actress at the 18th Yokohama Film Festival for '' Haru'' and the best actress award at the 2010 Montreal World Film Festival for her performance in ''Villain''. She also received acclaim for her r ...

as Norio * as Narrator

Release

''Summer Vacation 1999'' was released theatrically in Japan by

Shochiku () is a Japanese film and kabuki production and distribution company. It also produces and distributes anime films, in particular those produced by Bandai Namco Filmworks (which has a long-time partnership—the company released most, if not all ...

on March 26, 1988. It was shown as part of the

New Directors/New Films Festival The New Directors/New Films Festival is an annual film festival held in New York City, and organized jointly by the Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center Film at Lincoln Center, previously known as the Film Society o ...

at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in March 1989. The film was also later screened at the 2001 Dutch Transgender Film Festival (NTGF). In March 2014, ''Summer Vacation 1999'' was part of the program honoring film critic

Donald Richie Donald Richie (17 April 1924 – 19 February 2013) was an American-born author who wrote about the Japanese people, the culture of Japan, and especially Japanese cinema. Although he considered himself primarily a film historian, Richie also dir ...

at the

Japan Society of New York Japan Society is a non-profit organization formed in 1907 to promote friendly relations between the United States and Japan. Its headquarters was designed by Junzo Yoshimura and opened in 1971 at 333 East 47th Street near the United Nations. Wit ...

Reception

At the 10th Yokohama Film Festival in 1989, the film was ranked number 8 in the Best 10 Films of the year. At the same festival, director

won the Best Director award for his work on this film and his other 1988 entry '' Last Cabaret'', and Kenji Takama won the award for Best Cinematography. The film was also nominated for the Best Editing Award at the 12th

Japan Academy Film Prize The , often called the Japan Academy Prize, the Japan Academy Awards, and the Japanese Academy Awards, is a series of awards given annually since 1978 by the Japan Academy Film Prize Association (日本アカデミー賞協会, ''Nippon Akademii- ...

References

External links

* {{Shusuke Kaneko 1988 films 1988 romantic drama films 1988 LGBT-related films 1980s Japanese films Films directed by Shusuke Kaneko Films featuring an all-female cast Films about sexual repression Films set in 1999 Japanese coming-of-age films Japanese LGBT-related films Gay-related films Japanese romantic drama films Live-action films based on manga Shochiku films