Review of In the Realm of the Senses (1976) by Caesar M — 02 Apr 2013

I saw "Into the Realm of the Senses" without any knowledge before viewing it so imagine my shock when I discover there such a thing as an "erotic art" genre. Not only that but after doing some research it turns this movie is based on a true story on Sada Abe personal experiences. Having seen this film which mostly consisted of two couple having sex works in the film context, though has far too little substance not to be consider a porno. Also I must apologize for any unintentional innuendo since writing about this film was more difficult than I originally thought.

In the Realm of the Senses is based on a true story set in pre-war Japan, a man and one of his servants begin a torrid affair. Their desire becomes a sexual obsession so strong that to intensify their ardor, they forsake all, even life itself. That's pretty much all that happens in its 100 minute run-time, aside from Sada Abe cutting off her husband Slim Jim. Now the film does justify the endless amount of sex shown because in terms of the story it's primarily character driven. This is the only way the two characters know how to show affection for each other even if its kills them. There's even some conflict the characters faced whenever they become separated and can't control their desire for each other. Even jealousy plays a part the further it goes. The more obsessed Sada Abe becomes the more threatening she is towards her husband doubting his faithfulness towards her. This is a trait that shows she is not entirely mentally stable. Sex in this movie is meant to represent the couple state in their relationship by showing the two when they enjoy it and struggling to continue with their love. Now that's just mine interpretation of the story. As much as I am praising it this is not a universally approachable film. You have to see it and form your own conclusion since it content is not something everyone can form a single conclusion towards.

So can it be considered a porno? Yes and no. The couple we follow are each one dimensional. The only amount development you'll get is one character is a former prostitute and the man she loves is an unfaithful husband. It can't be consider a porno for this reason because both do have one dimensional characters. Then the sex scenes are very explicit and unstimulated. So for all adults and parents if you do plan on seeing keep it away from kids. For this reason some will regard this as a porno, but remember their are several film that also feature unstimulated sex scenes too. Though there are times it gets across some bizarre fetishes. Like a scene in which the husband insert an egg into his wife...you know and tells her to act like a hen. Then the husband goes on to eat the egg. Also no film or porno I know would go as far as to show kids naked on screen because that is plain tasteless. No matter what the kids where to meant to represent in the scene it's just uncomfortable. Worst being an obvious edit in the version I got in which a woman grabs the naked boy and it zooms to not show what she's doing with the young boy. Some might argue it could be harmless, but if it was then there would be no need to alter it. This is also the primary reason I can't recommend it either.

Into the Realm of the Senses is an unconventional character driven film that's deep in it meaning or plain porn with a plot depending whose talking about it. It's not something the masses should go out seeing since it's rough story is hard to view and can get very uncomfortable. This is one of those artistic film in which you either think is telling something deep or disregard as being pretentious.