Review of In the Realm of the Senses (1976) by Bill R — 28 Dec 2007

In 1965 Oshima Nagisa directed a film called The Pleasures of the Flesh. Within this film Oshima stretched limits of how much sexuality could be displayed on screen. Because Japanese censorship laws prohibited showing pubic hair and genitals in coitus other displays of sexuality such as sadomasochism became more of a standard in Japanese pink films that actual sexual intercourse. Oshima desired to direct such a film that gave its all to sexual expression, and with the additional push of a decaying film market, the director jumped a the opportunity to direct a film produced by the Frenchman Anatole Dauman who expressly wanted Oshima to direct a pornographic film. Oshima had little difficulty finding an actress to play the role of Abe Sada, but he had quite a bit more difficulty finding an actor to play the male role because most of the actors were concerned about their â??equipmentâ?? appearing to be small on screen. Eventually the role went to Fuji Tatsuya who also appears in such films as Kurosawa Kiyoshiâ??s Bright Future (2003) and quite a number of the Stray Cat Rock films of the early 1970s. After the movie was filmed in Japan, the unprocessed film was edited and processed in France. Oshima was taken to court because of the lewdness of the filmâ??s screenplay and fought for free expression in film. Until this day, the unedited version of the film has never been shown in Japan although it did attract the attention of quite a number of Japanese living or working abroad.

The film itself takes place in the year 1936. A time in which Japanâ??s military was becoming more and more enmeshed in fighting bother abroad and at home. However, for Ishida Kichizo this matters little. Instead he spends most of his days making love, drinking sake, and enjoying the entertainment provided by geisha. Within the hotel that Kichizo owns work a large number of pretty young women with the prettiest being a young woman named Abe Sada who had earlier been a prostitute. Stimulated by watching her master make love to his wife, Sadaâ??s desire for Kichizo grows and after he discovers her the two begin to make love frequently. At first, Sada is ashamed that she reaches orgasm much quicker than Kichizo, but he continuously tells her that his main desire is to fulfill her desires. The two continuously make love and eventually servants do not want to enter the room because Sada is constantly performing fellatio on Kichizo. It soon becomes evident that the power dynamic is switching from Kichizo to Sada and as her jealousy grows so does the dangerâ?¦.

In the Realm of the Senses contains many situations of coitus, fellatio, a young girl being forcibly penetrated with a dildo by older geisha, an egg being pushed into Sadaâ??s vagina, a young boyâ??s penis being tugged on by Sada, strangulation, and castration. Obviously with such scenes the film does not make for Saturday afternoon fare with the whole family. Oshima was criticized because many people believed that the film was nothing more than a means for Oshima to film pornographic material and because of this film Oshima is often labeled a director of porn in the West. While I do not see this film reaching the same heights of his films directed in the 1960s, I can still see that this film has some value outside of just its sexual content, which are bit more grotesque than stimulating which make them similar to the literature of Tanizaki Junichiro. Kichizo and Sadaâ??s indulgence in sex and the pure, unadulterated pleasure and self destruction they receive from it is a form of â??protestâ?? against Japanâ??s military and police forces which tried to control the lives of the Japanese people with an iron grip.

While not for the squeamish, In the Realm of the Senses is a worthwhile film for those interested in the films of Oshima Nagisa, controversial Japanese film, or for those interested in film that walk the fine border between â??artâ?? and â??trash.â??