Director Nagisa Ôshima was once quoted saying "My hatred for Japanese cinema includes absolutely all of it." These are quite pompous words from someone who has made such a bad film as "In the Realm of the Senses." I decided to wait a few weeks to let this film sink in for me so that I am able to develop my thoughts; not only do I now stand by disliking this film, but I have actually grown to detest it more upon contemplation. At the time of this writing, I have not seen any other films by Ôshima, and interestingly, I would not be against it as it is clear he has some talent. Throughout "In the Realm of the Senses", the audience can conclude that the film is well made in terms of mise en scène and I would even go as far to call some shots beautiful. The problem I have with the film is not how something is shown, but the context of which what is shown.
The film has inspired Gaspar Noé to direct his explicit film Love, which I have previously reviewed and consider to be one of the best films of 2015. This fact and its inclusion on the Criterion Collection drew my interest, however I was quite disappointed. A few minutes in, we see in a rather cringe worthy scene, children throwing snowballs at the private parts of an old man sleeping in the snow only to be followed by the lead character caressing his cold genitals in up- close detail. At this point, I realized the film would be more reminiscent of erotic schlock like "9½ Weeks" than it would intelligent psycho- sexual dramas like "Eyes Wide Shut." Scenes like this contribute little to nothing to the overall narrative; which the narrative in fact is mostly constructed by one pointless scene after another until it meets the third act where the elements it builds upon actually start to lead somewhere.
While the film is admittedly brave in what it chooses to show, it is ultimately aimless and inconsistent. In some scenes, there is conflict between the two regarding unfaithfulness; in others, it is defenestrated. In some scenes, the affair is meant to be kept secret; in others, the two have sex in public. Some scenes are bleak and imply realism, while others are hackneyed and corny including a scene in which an elderly lady watches the two have sex as she laughs and comments on the beauty of youth, which more or less happens twice with two different elderly women. There are at least two scenes of rape, which aids in neither the plot nor the characters it involves. The film's shock value loses its quality and becomes embarrassing. I would say the explicit nature of the film in theory does not upset or offend be, but I'd be lying if I didn't include one scene that legitimately bothers me. This particular scene is fortunately shot from afar and begins with two children (one boy, one girl) playing with each other while randomly running around naked. The boy is stopped by the lead female character who then yanks on his young penis leaving him shouting out that he is hurt by her. Not only does the scene appear to border child molestation and possibly documented abuse, but it also serves absolutely nothing to the story. The film goes on and on like this with interchangeable and ultimately irrelevant scenes for some time.
The third act is when the director actually takes the characters somewhere after much worthless malarkey that preceded it. The heightening dangers and perverseness of the characters are displayed in an intimate way as the two engage in the unhealthy taboo of choking one another. The film lacked such intimacy previously between the two leads, and ultimately the greatest scenes within this film is not brought to its fullest potential and feel watered down to me due to its lackluster first two acts leading here. The final moments of the film are fine, just fine. They are nothing special. There could be more buildup leading to its conclusion, but it's ultimately just okay at best at this point. While 2015's Love used this film's aesthetics as an outline to examine a relationship and case study on sex in an entertaining, intelligent, and intimate manner, "In the Realm of the Senses" butchers its best moments by settling within its perverse, corny, and shallow qualities. This is truly a bad, ugly, and unintelligent film disguised as something holding special significance.
The film has inspired Gaspar Noé to direct his explicit film Love, which I have previously reviewed and consider to be one of the best films of 2015. This fact and its inclusion on the Criterion Collection drew my interest, however I was quite disappointed. A few minutes in, we see in a rather cringe worthy scene, children throwing snowballs at the private parts of an old man sleeping in the snow only to be followed by the lead character caressing his cold genitals in up- close detail. At this point, I realized the film would be more reminiscent of erotic schlock like "9½ Weeks" than it would intelligent psycho- sexual dramas like "Eyes Wide Shut." Scenes like this contribute little to nothing to the overall narrative; which the narrative in fact is mostly constructed by one pointless scene after another until it meets the third act where the elements it builds upon actually start to lead somewhere.
While the film is admittedly brave in what it chooses to show, it is ultimately aimless and inconsistent. In some scenes, there is conflict between the two regarding unfaithfulness; in others, it is defenestrated. In some scenes, the affair is meant to be kept secret; in others, the two have sex in public. Some scenes are bleak and imply realism, while others are hackneyed and corny including a scene in which an elderly lady watches the two have sex as she laughs and comments on the beauty of youth, which more or less happens twice with two different elderly women. There are at least two scenes of rape, which aids in neither the plot nor the characters it involves. The film's shock value loses its quality and becomes embarrassing. I would say the explicit nature of the film in theory does not upset or offend be, but I'd be lying if I didn't include one scene that legitimately bothers me. This particular scene is fortunately shot from afar and begins with two children (one boy, one girl) playing with each other while randomly running around naked. The boy is stopped by the lead female character who then yanks on his young penis leaving him shouting out that he is hurt by her. Not only does the scene appear to border child molestation and possibly documented abuse, but it also serves absolutely nothing to the story. The film goes on and on like this with interchangeable and ultimately irrelevant scenes for some time.
The third act is when the director actually takes the characters somewhere after much worthless malarkey that preceded it. The heightening dangers and perverseness of the characters are displayed in an intimate way as the two engage in the unhealthy taboo of choking one another. The film lacked such intimacy previously between the two leads, and ultimately the greatest scenes within this film is not brought to its fullest potential and feel watered down to me due to its lackluster first two acts leading here. The final moments of the film are fine, just fine. They are nothing special. There could be more buildup leading to its conclusion, but it's ultimately just okay at best at this point. While 2015's Love used this film's aesthetics as an outline to examine a relationship and case study on sex in an entertaining, intelligent, and intimate manner, "In the Realm of the Senses" butchers its best moments by settling within its perverse, corny, and shallow qualities. This is truly a bad, ugly, and unintelligent film disguised as something holding special significance.