Japan Synopsis
“You're only young forever once.”
17-year old Jesse lives in the shadow of his older brother Victor's failure to become surfing's Next Big Thing. Even when he's in his natural habitat of magnificent surf breaks, his blue-collar future is brought home by the coal barges that constantly line his horizon. Jesse has the natural skills to surf his way out of this reality and onto the international circuit but can he overcome his equally natural ability to sabotage himself? A momentous weekend away with his mates that includes first love and tragedy leads him to discover what's really important, and also to the performance of a lifetime.
Romance + Drama in Japan
270 Japan titles in our catalog blend the Romance and Drama genres. Below: the top-rated of them (excluding Newcastle itself).
The 2007–2009 Japan Window
In the crowded 2007-2009 Japan release window, Newcastle sits at #345 of 362. The leaderboard below contextualises its neighbours.
The 2000s Japan Landscape
Catalog density by release year across the 2000s in Japan, 1020 titles in total. Highlighted year (yellow) is when Newcastle premiered alongside 124 others.
Position in Catalog
Released alongside 124 other Japan films in 2008.
The 2064th Japan title from Japan we index (earliest catalogued entry: 1899).
Our Japan catalog contains 4,579 titles in total (2,908 films).
Audience Engagement
30 audience reviews — more than 50% of Japan films in our index.
Review volume (50th percentile) outruns trending popularity (24th) — a durable title with sustained audience attention.
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #4,446 of 4,579 Japan films indexed here (3rd percentile by TMDB audience score).
Rating is -2.0 points below the Japan average of 6.9/10.
Among Japan Romance productions specifically: #396 of 406 (top 98%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | Japan |
|---|---|
| All Production Countries | Australia, Japan, United States of America |
| Original Language | En |
| Production Companies | 3 Dogs & a Pony, Dragonfly Pictures, Australian Film Finance Corporation |
| Runtime | 1h 47m |
| Release Date | April 25, 2008 |
| IMDb | tt1043860 |