by Robert Firsching
synopsis
Fans of director Kiyoshi Komori's perverse cult hit Jain will likely be disappointed by this routine soft-core melodrama, which -- despite some fairly brutal scenes of violence and an early appearance by future pinup queen Naomi Tani -- never approaches the bizarre level of that notorious film. Kaoru Miya stars as a prostitute who is indentured to a yakuza pimp (Katsuo Mikai), and suffers brutal beatings every time she tries to escape. Finally, during a dockside whipping, a fisherman (Shohei Yamamoto) and his sister (Tani) come to the rescue, freeing the young victim. The conclusion is as ridiculously contrived as that of Pretty Woman, but does anyone really watch pinku eiga films for believable plots?