In the Realm of the Senses

In the Realm of the Senses (1976)

Genres - Drama, Romance  |   Sub-Genres - Erotic Drama, Psychological Drama  |   Release Date - Apr 25, 2000 (USA)  |   Run Time - 109 min.  |   Countries - France, Japan  |   MPAA Rating - NC17
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Synopsis by Paul Brenner

Based upon a true incident in 1930s Japan, Nagisa Oshima's controversial film effectively skirts the borderline between pornography and art -- making Bernardo Bertolucci's Last Tango in Paris of four years earlier look like children's programming in comparison. The story concerns servant and former prostitute Sada Abe (Eiko Matsuda) who becomes sexually obsessed with her employer Kizicho (Tatsuya Fuji), a businessman, after seeing him making love to his wife. After making love to Sada, Kizicho becomes obsessed with her as well. As their love-making becomes more and more intense, they find themselves unable to separate themselves from each other, until every waking hour is spent in more and more dangerous sexual acts with Sada becoming more and more of the aggressor. Finally, for the ultimate in eroticism, Kizicho agrees to be strangled during sexual ecstasy for the ultimate in orgasmic fulfillment.

Characteristics

Keywords

employer/employee, lover, obsession, prostitute/prostitution, servant, sex, sexual-attraction

Attributes

High Artistic Quality, High Historical Importance