Director: Nagisa OshimaCast: Tatsuya Fuji, Eiko Matsuda, Aoi Nakajima, Yasuko Matsui
Running Time: 109min
Pure artistic expression or glorified porn film? That is the debate that has always followed ‘In the Realm of the Senses’, since its release in 1976.
Based on the true-life 1930s story of Sada Abe and her lover Kichizo Ishida - which has also been covered in ‘A Women Called Sada Abe (1975) and ‘Sada’ (1998) - Nagisa Oshima’s film contains many scenes of un-simulated sex, both between the main two characters and a number of the less-prominent roles.
Oshima was aware that such a film would never make its way past the Japanese censors, and it was therefore listed as a French enterprise, with the undeveloped footage shipped to France for the editing process. This allowed Oshima to keep his vision for the film intact, and this shines through in the released print, which is nothing if not a truly honest piece of filmmaking.
For those of you not familiar with the story of Sada Abe, the plotline of the film revolves around her relationship with Kichizo Ishida, a married man, who is the owner of the hotel where Abe (a former prostitute) has recently been employed as a maid. One morning, unable to sleep, another maid tells Abe to follow her if she wants to see something interesting. They sneak out to Ishida’s dwelling, where they both watch him make love to his wife, as he does at the same time every morning. Abe’s eyes light up and it is at this point that her obsession with Ishida begins.
It is not long before Ishida and Abe begin an affair, first in the shadows of the hotel complex, and then by moving to another hotel together. Whilst still in Ishida’s hotel, Abe stumbles across Ishida and his wife making love once more, and contemplates killing the wife with a razor left on the bedroom floor. This is the first glimpse we get of the extreme jealously that is at the root of Abe’s actions as the film progresses.
In the new hotel, Ishida and Abe continue having sex constantly for days on end, not even halting their actions when maids come to offer them Sake, or Geisha’s come to play them music. Abe has an insatiable desire for sex, one that Ishida somewhat struggles to keep up with, despite her remarks of “how do you always keep it so hard”.
The constant nature of their sexual activities, along with the way in which their bodies almost become one, is really amplified by the graphicness of the sex scenes. By seeing two humans actually partaking in the act of sex, with no limitations, or reservations about their bodies, the film manages to perfectly portray the desperation that Abe has to be with Ishida, and how she feels completely at one with him. It is hard to imagine that these scenes would have the same power had they been ‘acted’, and it can therefore be argued that the un-simulated sex was a necessity to truly convey the emotions involved.
The knowing voices of the hotel maids who call the couple “disgusting” and remark that “all she does all day is suck you off”, could quite easily be interpreted as the director Oshima having a dig at the Japanese society of his time, who viewed sex as a very private matter, and not something that should be flaunted about. It is interesting seeing this in relation to the current Japanese feeling towards sex. In modern Japan, the hoodoo of sex appears to have been lifted in the entertainment sector; in fact Japanese television shows such as ‘The Virgin Show’ are among the most sexually explicit shows worldwide. However, the underlying feeling is that an average Japanese person (especially female) is likely to be unwilling to openly discuss sex, and it is still seen as something that happens, and that should stay, in the bedroom. In this way, ‘In the Realm of the Senses’ is still a relevant commentary on the sexual feeling in modern day Japan.
As always seems to be the case, the knowing voices of the maids are indeed correct, as the relationship between Ishida and Abe becomes increasingly more destructive as time passes. The slight boundaries that were initially in place between them are constantly broken, and even food is brought into the love making process, through the somewhat questionable placement of an egg. The recipe for self-destruction is sealed the moment violence gets brought into the relationship, and with Abe’s increasing jealously at the thought of Ishida with other women, the tension in the final scenes of the film is almost unbearable.
Oshima should be praised for sticking to his principles and executing the film in the manner that he though would most reflect the state of the relationship between Abe and Ishida. The controversy created by the film caused him to adopt a more restrained approach to sexual passion in his next film ‘Empire of Passion’, and he never quite pushed the boundaries in the same way again. Film viewers should be glad that he did break the conventions with ‘In the Realm of the Senses’ as it is a much better film for it. If you don’t mind watching scenes of real sex, then definitely give the film a try. Whilst it is by no means perfect, it is certainly a highly emotional experience, and one that will have you on tender hooks all the way until the inevitable ending.
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