Break Through!

Romeo, A.K.A. Kosuke Matsuyama (Shun Shioya), is a second-year high school student. He suddenly finds himself in the middle of a rampaging crowd of Korean boys, outraged by insults perpetrated by several of his idiotic classmates on two Korean girls. He makes a narrow escape, but soon after, he and his best friend Yoshio (Keisuke Koide) are sent by their homeroom teacher to invite the Korean students to a friendly soccer game as a way of restoring the peace.

Trembling like black-uniformed leaves, they enter enemy territory, where Kosuke encounters a doll-faced but serious-looking girl, Lee Kyung-ja (Erika Sawajiri), playing a Korean folk song, "Rimjin River," on a flute. He and Yoshio are also nearly lynched by her older brother Lee An-sung (Sosuke Takaoka) and his gang, but he is already smitten—and eager to learn that haunting tune.

The narrative focuses on the protagonist Kosuke's endeavor to both master a musical composition and earn the affection of a young woman who appears to inhabit a foreign and inhospitable environment. Concurrently, Ang Son and his group engage in street skirmishes with Japanese delinquents, adopting a confrontational approach akin to a competitive sport, with alternating victories. Ang Son, excessively adhering to notions of masculinity, confronts a pivotal decision when he discovers that his romantic partner, Kyoko Yanagihara, is expecting a child and resolute in keeping it, compelling him to confront a daunting dilemma: to mature or evade responsibility.

• Shun Shioya as Kosuke Matsuyama (松山浩介), the main protagonist and a second-year student who falls in love with a girl of Korean origin, Lee Kyung-ja.
• Keisuke Koide as Norio Yoshida (吉田紀男), Kosuke Matsuyama's best friend.
• Sousuke Takaoka as Lee An-sung (이안성/イ・アンソン), a Zainichi Korean troublemaker who is the hot headed older brother of Lee Kyung-ja.
• Erika Sawajiri as Lee Kyung-ja (이경자/イ・キョンジャ), a Zainichi Korean student who studies in a North korean school in Kyoto and Lee An-sung's shy younger sister who dreams of becoming a movie star. She's also the love interest of Kosuke Matsuyama.
• Kazuki Namioka as Motoki Bang-ho (모토키 방호/モトキ・バンホー), Lee An-sung's best friend.
• Hiroyuki Onoue as Park Jae-dok (박재독/パク・ジェドク), Lee An-sung's younger brother.
• Kyoko Yanagihara as Momoko (桃子), Lee An-sung's girlfriend who gets pregnant by him, making him make a decision about his life.
• Yoko Maki as Chun Gang-ja (전강자/チョン・ガンジャ), the best martial artist in the North korean school and the friend of Lee An-sung, Motoki and Jae-dok.
• Noriko Eguchi as Hyeyoung (혜영/ヘヨン), Chun Gang-ja's best friend

48th Blue Ribbon Awards[1]

• Won: Best Film

27th Yokohama Film Festival[2]

• Won: Best Film
• Won: Best Director - Kazuyuki Izutsu
• Won: Best Cinematography - Hideo Yamamoto
• Won: Best Newcomer - Erika Sawajiri and Shun Shioya