In the Realm of the Senses (1976) User Reviews

You Will Feel Unease Whether You Appreciate The Film Or Not

[aghaemi · 7/10 · 28 August 2014]

Of all the categories of film ones depicting open sex are the most controversial. Trick people, steal their identities, wealth or children, make war, drop bombs or annihilate planets and it is all fine. Show two humans have sex for pleasure and millions will revolt. Although few deny that sex is exciting many assert it is not proper or art. Making the audience feel unsettled, uncomfortable and flinch is part of the intention here. Written and directed by Japan's Nagisa Ôshima's, 1976's In The Realm of Senses (Ai No Korida or 'love's/lover's bullfight') clinches the title as a risqué and explicit art film conceived to break taboos. Here is a film with full sexuality, nudity, penetration, S&M and more whose mission, for starters, is to push the boundaries, promote free speech and deconstruct obscenity. It is pornographic, but directed to be the opposite. Given the imagery and subject matter the film could easily be labelled pornography; however, the presence of respectable/mainstream/traditional cast, crew, studio and production values - not to mention anti-pornographic (pink eiga) film techniques - renders it enough of a something else to confuse most and push the boundary well back. Nagisa Ôshima saw obscenity and censorship as anathema to progress and indeed believed Japan has taken many steps backwards since the days of pleasure quarters, open prostitution in brothels, openness and individuality. His distaste for what he saw as the society's backward march, group-think and suppression of free speech is the driving force behind the feature. Indeed the old geisha who at one point entertains the main characters of this film, when the younger ones ended up refusing to return, proclaims "that's natural for a woman" to constantly have sex with a man. Oshima's statement in this regard sheds light on his intent. "The concept of "obscenity" is tested when we dare to look at something that we desire to see but have forbidden ourselves to look at. When we feel that everything has been revealed, "obscenity" disappears" He needed his powers of articulation because - and not for the first time - he would land in court in Japan defending his art. He would live to tell the tale, but to this day the film is only seen in Japan cut, censored and pixelated. The film unequivocally depicts one X-rated sexual act and thought after another. On a mission to make "obscenity disappear" one sees complete nudity, sex, an extramarital affair, S&M inclusive of pain inflicted with or without foreign objects (Kichizo: "it hurts but feels good"), exhibitionism, ingestion, prostitution, promiscuity/free sex, exposure of children and sex with the elderly. Having scratched items off its list the viewer is still ill prepared for the mutilation that follows. Such is the conviction of the writer/director and the ensemble around him. The film does not stop there. Caught in its crosshairs are Japan's pre-World War II militarization, Japanese traditional respect for one's seniors and tradition, male dominance in sex and pornography and crucially man's greater sexual appetite compared to a woman's. Any and all of these concepts would horrify the busybodies that constitute any society anywhere, but even more so in the Japan of 1976 with its induced promotion of group harmony and conformity. Based on a real story dating back to 1936 In The Realm Of Senses retells the story of Sada Abe (played by newcomer Eiko Matsuda) who bedded with her master (Kichizo Ishida played by Tatsuya Fuji) with their ending up stealing away from their lives in a Tokyo inn in Nakano while abandoning his wife. Scandal ensues when their indulgence intensifies amidst everything described above and more. The lovers completely give of themselves. Coincidentally, I had recently watched Akarui Mirai with Tatsuya Fuji who has had an acting career in Japan before and after this feature. It is worth noting this because In The Realm Of Senses features a range of established Japanese talent. Anywhere else in the world and this movie would not have attracted any takers. Apparently, many women had come to audition for a cinematic role, which involves full penetration. The same could not be said about the male talent. The director recounts many were worried about their phallus size or being able to perform on camera. Nonetheless, first there is Oshima's wife, the actress Akiko Koyama. She had volunteered to play Sada, although some speculate it was done to spur other actresses. She plays a geisha here. The old geisha is Kanae Kobayashi. She plays her actual real-life age. She was an established actress notable for the Zatoichi films. The old vagabond is Taiji Tonoyama whose over 200 credits include the brilliant Ningen No Joken (The Human Condition I). The innkeeper is played by established actress Aoi Nakajima herself the daughter of Masayuki Mori known for classics of cinema like Ugetsu or Rashomon. The crew was also an established team working in Kyoto on the set of many a Mizoguchi or Kurosawa film. It is an extraordinarily uninhibited and ground-breaking film. Yet, there are beautiful images of old-style Japanese rooms and decor, traditional outfits, melodies of the shamisen and muted but vivid colours throughout the film which is largely restricted to the indoors. The fox (kitsune) masks of the festival, the kites of the Children's festival and the bird dancer (mimicking the actual bird of earlier) colour the film Japanese further. Nonetheless, these are mere interludes amidst the subversive and often difficult viewing. Amazingly Oshima had sought out the real-life Sada Abe (Sada meaning 'chaste' in Japanese - although her name and the adjective have different Kanji) and obtained her permission to film In The Realm Of Senses. By this time she was ensconced in a Buddhist monastery. Whether one enjoys In The Realm Of Senses or not one has to tip his hat at the courageous and spirited Argos Films, the cast, crew, director, producer and Criterion video.

It is one of the most gripping films to have ever handled sexual obsession

[Nazi_Fighter_David · 7/10 · 3 October 2008]

"In the realm of Senses" is so wonderfully plotted and expertly acted that it almost has a dream-like effect… It's an erotic fantasy turned nightmare… It is the story of a sexual relationship between a young Japanese couple… At first lustful and erotic, they can't get enough… However, their experiments in sensationalism end in tragedy…

The film is flavored with strange yet genuinely humorous moments… For example, an older lady chance upon the lovers, and—for the fun of it—the young man initiates a ménage à trois… The incident proves to be so exhilarating that the old woman dies from exhaustion... The scene is played with such vivacity and intensity that—despite the fatal outcome—it does have a strange humorous overtone to it…

Director Nagisa Oshima developed with great care all the minor details of this affair without ever becoming overbearing or intending to teach...

Erotic movie examines its society

[dave13-1 · 7/10 · 9 February 2008]

With his landmark film The Ceremony, Nagisa Oshima became one of Japanese filmdom's leading social critics as he dissected the logic behind ritual suicide, arranged marriages and other activities considered acceptable 'traditional' behavior. Here he examines the story behind a famous Japanese scandal - a prostitute was found wandering the streets of Tokyo out of her mind following the death of her lover by erotic asphyxiation - in terms of what is considered 'acceptable' Japanese social behavior. The principals engage in obsessive sexual activity, and allow the addictive and dangerous aspects of their relationship to get out of hand precisely BECAUSE it was considered so unhealthy and immoral by Japanese standards. In a society in which all sexual activity is viewed as shameful, shame no longer mediates behavior. Limits become meaningless. The film itself is colorfully made, with excellent period detail and production design, and the actors are attractive. The structure is that of an erotic novel, as game playing, obsession and danger escalate to a fitting point-of-no-return climax. It is much better and more socially relevant than similar American films such as Nine 1/2 Weeks.

Overshadowed by the pointless "art" versus "porn" debate!

[Infofreak · 16 October 2001]

'Empire Of The Senses' is one of the least seen and much debated movies of the Seventies. "Least seen" because in many countries, including the one I live in, it has been banned, or only available in censored versions for many years. This movie divides people - those that like it hail it as ART, those that don't dimiss it snobbishly as PORN. Both camps are fooling themselves! 'Empire Of The Senseless' is BOTH.

Is it "serious"? Yes. Is it voyeuristic and prurient? Yes. Is it a masterpiece? Not quite. Is it worth watching? Very much so. In fact I'd say it was essential viewing for anyone interested in extreme or taboo-breaking movies.

The Seventies were the decade where the boundaries of screen sex, violence and disturbing imagery were repeatedly stretched. Peckinpah's 'Straw Dogs' and 'Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia', Bertolucci's 'Last Tango In Paris', Scorsese's 'Taxi Driver', Kubrick's 'A Clockwork Orange',were all milestones, and the the art movies of Herzog, Warhol, Pasolini, and Jodorowsky battled it out with the horror and exploitation of Russ Meyer, Dario Argento, John Waters,and David Cronenberg. Add to that the unexpected crossover success of 'Deep Throat' and the very existence of shockers like 'Ilse, She Wolf Of The SS' and 'Cannibal Holocaust', and what do you get? The artificial and meaningless divisions of genres, "high art" vs "trash", new ways of thinking vs new ways of making money, it was all on the table. For one brief decade it looked like a brave new world.

Then everything that was gained was lost - Spielberg and Simpson/Bruckheimer cleaned up (financially and aesthetically), and things have never been the same since. Watch 'Empire Of The Senseless' with that in mind. It may be flawed - you'll be alternatively fascinated and bored - but it is an important movie from an important period in movie history.

An obsessive tale of love based on a true story

[Lady_Targaryen · 6/10 · 8 October 2006]

''Ai no corrida'' is a polemic movie that was banned and also censored by many different countries, including the Japan itself, where strict censorship laws would not allow the film to be completed properly, so the the undeveloped footage was shipped to France for processing and editing.

The movie is based on a true story that happened in the 30's, where Sada Abe erotically asphyxiated her lover, Kichizo Ishida, during sex, and them cut it out his penis and testicles to walk on streets of Tokyo with his organs in her hand.

Many of the sexual scenes between the actors are real, by the way.

The plot: Abe Sada works as a maid in a hotel. She is an ex prostitute. When Abe meets the hotel owner Kichizo, they begin to have an intense affair, and while the time passes, Abe starts to have an obsessive behavior towards Kichizo to the point that she even threatens to kill him. The things between them are going to reach tragical consequences near the end.

Well, if nothing else, it has guts...

[BoboPDE · 9/10 · 7 January 1999]

Sure, everyone (or most everyone) has heard about "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" and its remarkable statement about human sexuality. However, it is unlikely that as many people have heard about this film, which in a totally different way makes perhaps as profound a statement about that topic.

In fact, if you see an uncut version of this film, you are in essence watching pornography. That is, you are watching incredibly graphic sexual content that simply would not be allowed in an American film. I won't spell it out for you, but I will say this...do you know what they can't show you in American movies? This one shows that. And quite a bit more. This is not the type of sex you would see in a film like "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" or "Bliss" or some of the other decent American films about sex (though I can't think of any others). This is more like the sex shown in "Last Tango in Paris." The characters are so self-destructive and dangerous that the sex (one of the most inherent of all human practices) becomes an expression of their inhumanity. This is not easy stuff. But if you are willing to find an uncut version and experience the true power of this film, you may find yourself moved by the things you see.

This film blurs the line between pornography and art, and I believe that it stays one inch to the art side, but decide for yourself. Either way, I think that it is about time for American films to truly explore that distinction.

Is There a Line to Be Drawn?

[Hitchcoc · 6/10 · 20 March 2013]

This was disturbing to watch. First of all, one needs to buy into its cultural me milieu. Then we need to begin to accept the two fundamental characters and how they meld into that setting. This is a story of unbridled sensualism. It's soft one moment and hideous the next. The movie is incredibly graphic and I'm sure the release frightened and confused its patrons. I have to admit, I never really fell under its spell. As a matter of fact, I think I felt that I was invading a sick kind of world. Was I seeing people or monsters? There is great effort at times to prevent it from moving into the next level. The performances aren't really sexual as much as sadistic. This is proved out.

Groundbreaking and unique. Yet strangely forgotten.

[pillok-2 · 10/10 · 23 July 2000]

It has been described as the Japanese Last Tango in Paris- a fair comparison. For both films explore in a truly raw and puissant manner the sexuality and psychology of sex. Ai No Corrida is an overwhelming experience, if for nothing else than its sheer audacity. But Corrida is so much more than sex. It delves into a shrouded netherworld of experimentation and pain. The world of De Sade.

Yet it is not turgid or depraved; it is not repugnant or diabolical. It is a poetic voyage into the unknown. It is about the search for pure fulfillment and pleasure. Nothing else in the world presented matters, reality is discarded. And thus the cause for the tragedy which ensues.

The two protagonists separate themselves from all that is real for they know that to find true happiness they must transcend all levels of reality and consciousness to a mighty plane. But such a place is transient. Yet the few glorious moments in such a world are worth any heartache that follows.

It was a film ahead of its time and I believe that it is still. The sparse few in the audience snickering and snorting confirmed this. It is one of those films whose reputation has preceded it and is so well known in Arthouse circles that disappointment may be said to be inevitable. But this film lives up to its reputation. For it is a truly explicit and daring film as it challenges the common perception that happiness is conformity. It proposes that true happiness is unobtainable in this world and to gain it you must sacrifice the flesh, to forward and improve the soul.

Yet this film made twenty-four years ago has been forgotten in the industry for where is its influence, its mark? Few films have used pornography in such a way since. And sex is still relegated to the flea-pit cinemas and backstreet shops. Arthouse films which depict sex, even those which do so explicitly, present it as the result of the character's exploration or development. As a curiosity, or as symbolic of the ascension of a particular player. Corrida uses sex to forward the plot, to illustrate the personalities of its protagonists, to symbolize everything in their fragile society. Sex is the plot development, sex is the key player and sex is the message. The sex takes centre stage. Each new scene is the result of sex, not vice versa.

This truly original concept has never taken hold. Why not? Surely the Arthouse circuit would realize the potential and milk it dry. And yet Corrida and a handful of others are the only films to take advantage.

This is why Ai No Corrida is a masterpiece. The acting, the direction, script etc... are all brilliant. But the ideas and concepts and invention are what makes Corrida one of the most superb films ever made. A film unknown except to those in the Arena. A film which took no hold, was as distant and mysterious as the world it depicted. A fleeting landmark that should have shook the world; but, maybe rightly, will always remain a forgotten treasure.

Erotic yet horror

[BandSAboutMovies · 7/10 · 23 January 2022]

Sada Abe (Eiko Matsuda) is a former prostitute who now works as a maid in a hotel, where she falls for the owner, Kichizo Ishida (Tatsuya Fuji), an affair that starts simply with non-stop sex and continues to become an obsession, as she doesn't want to share him even with his wife. Soon, their love games include strangling one another during sex and her holding a knife to his manhood, saying that she's going to take it with her. Well, that's exactly what happens, as she accidentally kills him while they make love and takes his member with her, walking with it inside her before she's arrested.

Directed and written by Nagisa Oshima, who also made Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, this is a rare mainstream film that doesn't shy from unsimulated sex, made in a culture that even hides the mere glance at female genitals. It was made in France, while in Japan, it was fogged and blurred so that it could appear in theaters.

Eiko Matsuda had worked in sexploitation films but was never treated as harshly by the public as she was when this film was made, finally moving to France and ending her acting career. Society remains unfair, as her male partner in the movie, Tatsuya Fuji, regained his career after two years.

This was based on a true story and Sada Abe did not fade from the world after serving five years of her six-year sentence even though she asked for the death penalty. The police record of her interrogation and confession became a best-selling book. Over the next few years, the public perception of her moved from a pervert to someone who murdered for love. She acted in a traveling show and worked in a bar in downtown Tokyo for twenty years before appearing in Teruo Ishii's documentary History of Bizarre Crimes by Women in the Meiji, Taisho, and Showa Eras. When Oshima tried to find her before making this movie, he learned that she was in a nunnery, yet most reports claim that she disappeared.

One note, over and over again.

[cem-18 · 1/10 · 7 August 2004]

This movie tries to shock, but ultimately it is meaningless. The characters have no depth. The story is one dimensional. The historical background is completely absent. Perhaps that is supposed to be the point. That the sexual relationship between these people became the only thing in their lives that mattered. I guess my question is, why should anyone else care? I was not offended by the graphic depictions of sex, nor was I shocked at the graphic violence at the end of the movie. I was mostly bored and frustrated by what was supposed to be such a ground-breaking movie. The story depicted in this film could have been interesting. A film about sexual obsession in Japan just prior to WWII certainly could have been riveting. This film, simply put, IS NOT.

a film about unhealthy sexual obsession

[julie keilty · 10/10 · 16 February 2002]

This film brought down boundaries with the U.K.censors. This film was finally passed by the British censors in the early 90's. It explores every aspect of unhealthy sexual obsession. From being "clingy" to someone, to being bored with someone to the extent that you try to excite the situation with dangerous actions i.e. strangulation games. Performance wise the film is first rate, especially the performance from Tatsuya Fuji, probably giving the performance of his life. Director Nagisa Oshima is a man,even to this day,who is not afraid of controversey. His latest film Gohatto(Taboo)is testament to that,focusing on gay samurai,which is a controversial subject in itself. In the Realm of the Senses is a very rarely seen film. If you ever get the chance to check it out, do so. It is an unforgettable and shocking experience.

A girl like you can stab a man's heart without a knife, huh?

[lastliberal · 6/10 · 4 February 2009]

This Japanese pink film is no video nastie, as it lacks any sort of a story other than a prostitute wanting continual sex with a married man. Of course, he will take it from anyone he can, and she will leave him to make money, but the rest of the film, over 80% is the two of them engaging in numerous bouts of sex and perversion - sado/masochism, food perversions, whatever, until the story gets so boring she has no other choice but to end it permanently. It is a dark film about sexual obsession with lots of obsessive sex. Art or porn? That debate will go on forever.

There was just nothing erotic about this film. It's value is only as a curiosity.

I Did Not Like this Film

[Jalea · 1/10 · 2 January 2013]

I found myself confused about what the film maker was trying to convey. It is true that there are graphic sex scenes that caused me to press the forward button. I felt the movie was about a woman's toxic obsession and the man's willing to do whatever it took to fulfill her insatiable desires. I must say that the director and actors were daring to be willing to take part telling this true story, which I Googled after watching the movie. I would say to watch the movie for yourself and decide what you think. I found it interesting that the story seemed to be told without judgment of the characters. It was just a frank narrative of a tragic story of a twisted love affair. This movie is not for the faint at heart.

One of the most extraordinary films I have ever seen

[tranquilbuddha · 17 March 2006]

There is nothing in cinema that I can think of that compares to In The Realm Of The Senses. It is in a class of its own: beautiful, tender, sensual, erotic, horrifying. I can still remember the shock of seeing it perhaps twenty years ago: not just at the explicitness of the images, in every sense, but at the extraordinary passion and honesty of the two central performances, and Oshima's direction.

Despite the violent nature of the film, and the fact that it is based on a true event, I cannot think of another film that so truly captures the intensity of any emotional and sexual relationship at some point in its incarnation. If you have ever felt love and desire at their most powerful - the wish not to possess someone, but to become part of them and share with them how they experience the world - then you will recognize that feeling here. While certainly not a map for any relationship you might wish to have (I pray!), this film says more about what it means to be a man or woman than any other film I have seen.

Pushing the Limits of What Man and Audience Can Bear

[Tarquineshetta · 7/10 · 23 January 2006]

This movie freaked me out the first time I saw it. I couldn't even look at a hard-boiled egg for weeks afterward. It's taken me more than a decade to come back to see it a second time. It's almost a dare from director to audience--how much can you bear to watch, eh? How much sex could the man bear to take? How far gone was Abe Sada's mind? The second time through, I was ready for the hard-boiled egg. I wasn't ready to notice the scene where--in a dream, of course--Ms. Abe molests a child.

On a lighter note, when I went to Japan in 1996, I found mentioning Abe Sada's name elicited a humorous reaction even then. At the time, it was similar to saying "Lorena Bobbitt." Hands went unconsciously to protect the, er, "toys."

Awakened female self-consciousness and self-destruction

[Chri7 · 10/10 · 4 October 2017]

In the film IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES by Oshima Nagisa, we can not catch a trace of similarity to those cliché love stories where Romeo and Juliet show their affections implicitly and finally get together, pushing aside all obstacles and difficulties. Instead, there is extraordinarily explicit, intense, and stimulating lust between the two characters, who "do virtually nothing but pursue their sexual desires"(Peter Lehman). The carnal sexuality, as the main theme of the film, implies two sides of a coin: ideally returning to Eden where one can obey the instinctive desires and lightheartedly indulge in sexual pleasure, as well as suffering from Coitum Animal Triste – great void and solitude after extreme pleasure of orgasms. As Sada irresistibly drown in lust, deeper and deeper, she at last heads towards destruction with her lover.

In the realm of sensory pleasure, Kichi, as a masculine and patricentric symbol, is put in a weak position throughout; hence Sada's aggressive and possessive passion for sex becomes the symbol of awakened female self-consciousness. It reminds me of another film, Joi Niku Dorei (1986) by Katsuhiko Fuji. In this Japanese pink film, Kumi, a beautiful doctor, married her colleague Kitame. A misleading sex tape in which the heroine looks exactly like Kumi soon ruins their idyllic marriage, sent anonymously. Kitame thinks Kumi betrayed him, and thence has sex with the misconceived wife with brutalities and humiliations ever after. In the end of the film, with all misunderstandings resolved, Kumi turns down Kitame's begging for forgiveness. In a hotel room, she masturbates to orgasm in front of a DV she bought for herself, then wanders around Tokyo streets aimlessly. The film ends with a reflection of Kumi's pretty but slightly flurried face on a showcase filled with televisions in an electronics store. Trauma and lust changes Kumi, a conventionally gentle and virtuous wife, into an independent woman who discerns and pursues her instinctive desire. In other words, the sex-tape incident awakes Kumi.

In the context of women's sexual pleasure relying on pleasing men, Kumi and Sada resist male supremacy through sexuality. The difference is Sada opens to her desire at the very beginning, with the will and determination towards self-destruction.

La petite mort, meaning "the little death", is a French euphemism for orgasm. Ecstasy during transient orgasm does have resemblances with death: they are both extreme experience. In the end of the film, Sada strangles Kichi to death and cut off his genital. She regards it as the only way towards eternal sexuality, and in this way she and Kichi can be together forever. Death, self-destruction, and lust, seems to be Sada's final redemption.

Explicit sex scenes in the film are astonishing. In his book, Running Scared: Masculinity and the Representation of the Male Body, Peter Lehman argues the difference between erotic traditions of ancient East and modern West. Lehman enumerates several features in western hard-core pornography: invariably erect penises, men ejaculating on women's faces, and moaning and groaning of women in ecstasy; either symbolizes man power or centrality of male sexuality. In this case, "women's pleasure becomes fetishized, not valued". Contrarily in In the Realm of Senses, Sada's sexual satisfaction is the only thing that Kichi values, as he says "No. But if it pleases you, yes," when Sada asks if he really wants she to strangle him. There are many shots of Kichi's flaccid average-size penis, and Sada always moans as an expression of her own pleasure.

In the Realm of Senses is a significant masterpiece, on account of both its extremely sensual, erotic, and romantic story and its distinction comparing with western hard-core pornography – it stands for women's desires.

Fantastic erotic cinema -- not for the weak

[Jemiah · 10/10 · 19 April 1999]

I'd been wanting to see this film for a long time, and I was honestly quite shocked by the explicit nature of the film -- it's sex, sex, and more sex. However, that's not all there is. This is a stylized re-telling of a true story of a disastrous, obsessive love relationship that culminated in the murder and mutilation of one of the partners. It explores the concept of sexual obsession as an expression of love far more fully and interestingly than any American film I've ever seen, and certainly is far more interesting than your usual modern X-rated flick. The actors, lighting, composition, etc. are all superb.

About the dangers of obsession

[Vartiainen · 6/10 · 3 May 2018]

Probably one of the most well-known explicit films about sex and sexuality. Based on true events, the movie tells about Sada Abe (Eiko Matsuda), a hired servant, who catches the eye of her master and in turn becomes infatuated with him. Their relationship quickly turns sexual in nature, but things start to slowly head downhill when that aspect of their lives consumes more and more of their waking hours.

And yes, there is a lot of sex in this film. Unsimulated sex, in fact. But it's not really a pornographic film. It's a film about obsession and how we can become so consumed by one thing in our lives that it's hard for us to cope if that thing turns sour or is taken away from us or taken too far. And in this case the subject of that obsession is sex.

No doubt many a person has watched this film purely for the "mating" scenes, but I think that a lot of those viewers were not expecting to also get a story out of it. A discussion about what it means to commit to someone and whether that's even possible without the mental and intellectual dimension present in almost all relationships. With a sprinkling of social commentary concerning Japan's political leanings thrown in the mix.

Is it a masterpiece of a film? No, not really. Is it something you've likely never seen before? Most probably. Worth a watch? Well... depends.

Embarrassingly bad.

[theconservativeliberal · 1/10 · 27 June 2008]

I felt compelled to write a comment in response to the stupid amount of "this is not porn it is beautiful art, if you don't like it you're just prudish" comments I just sifted through.

This is not beautiful, it is not art. It looked cheap and nasty. It looked as if it had the production values of an amateur porn session, lit by whatever broken desk lamps found in your average erotic dungeon. The fake snow looked like fake snow. The kids throwing snow at the old man's exposed privates made me want to punch the director for trying to make the rest of the movie anything but a comedy.

To top its woeful aesthetics off, the absolute drivel that came out of these character's mouths was nauseating. Every single time they'd have sex, which would be 85% of the film, the woman would say the same banal, generic "you inside me is beyond words" without fail.

There are some movies that are so bad that they become entertaining. Like Plan 9 from Outer Space. This was not entertaining. It was mind-numbingly boring. film. If you thought this was any good I recommend you re evaluate your life. Because something is very wrong. Probably a lot of things are very wrong.

100 minutes of beautiful boning

[wandereramor · 8/10 · 18 March 2012]

For better or for worse, there aren't a lot of movies out there like In the Realm of the Senses. Well, there's porn, but this isn't really porn -- it lets the ugliness as well as the beauty of sex shine through, and through all the cinematographic haze it seems considerably more real than depictions of sex in even "regular" movies.

There's a narrative here, told through the slowly-unfolding patterns of debauchery, one of a terrifying spiral of hedonism. In the end, despite all of its explicitness, it's more of a conservative cautionary tale than anything else.

What makes In The Realm of the Senses work as well as it does is the beautiful images and almost mystical pacing of director Oshima. I won't lie and say that there aren't times when the film is tedious and even dull, or that its final conclusion is extremely profound. But it's one hell of an experience, and a disgusting gonzo film that needed to be made. It's one of those films that you don't watch, you live through.

Controversial Only for Hypocrites

[nycritic · 6/10 · 22 March 2006]

The events on which the story of AI NO CORRIDA (a.k.a. IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES) are that of a Japanese prostitute who was found wandering the streets of Tokyo as she held the severed penis of her dead lover and what lead her to this state. Stuff that some might find shocking, unless your name happens to be Lorena Bobbitt and you were planning on re-creating the last scene of this film unto your abusive husband. Then it becomes quasi-feminism in reaction to male abuse.

Sada is a nymphomaniac who is about to awaken to even more extreme forms of erotic gratification once she moves into an inn owned by Kichizo and his wife. An affair between them takes place and grows more intense once she demands that he not make love to his wife. In a moment of fantasy violence that precludes the events which become the result of extreme kink, Sada sees herself as a voyeur who interrupts Kichizo and his wife's orgasm by stabbing her in the neck and reveling in her blood.

Sada and Kichizo's affair becomes so torrid that it even shocks the other geishas and literally kills an older lady who Sada has Kichizo have sex with. An encounter with an ex-teacher has Sada then awaken to sado-masochism as she suddenly asks the man to slap her as hard as he can. To her surprise, once she relates this to Kichizo, he also asks her to slap him, and from them on, all they can do is push the limits of kink and self-immolation in order to make their sexual encounters as gratifying as possible.

I've seen this classified as an erotic drama but it is not. Erotica as a storytelling medium, while it employs sex as a large part of the plot, also has character development, atmosphere, and is not as sexually explicit (although this is debatable as the concept of "what is erotic" evolves). AI NO CORRIDA, a story that is from start to finish about sex as a non-stop activity, doesn't allow for any other development: sex, gratification, the little death, this is all that seems to be on the two main characters' minds. While this on paper reads well, it doesn't translate itself to screen. There needs to be a little more psychology entrenched within the characters. Plus, the very explicitness of the sex, while meant to shock on purpose, does the very opposite: it desensitizes. All we see is sex, sex, and more sex. Yes, maybe this is how it happened, but it's showed in one non-stop assault on the senses and due to that, it becomes almost laughable. Until the final scene.

AI NO CORRIDA is a film that should be seen, but the approach has to be on a cerebral plane. It's very disquieting nature suggests that it be done this way.

Puzzling and a little boring

[samhill5215 · 5/10 · 27 January 2010]

Given that this is a film about sexual obsession I expected a frank and honest depiction of sexual acts. And that's not the problem here. In fact I disagree most vehemently with those labeling it as pornographic. There was nothing of the cold, loveless, rote sex in porn movies in this film. It was filled with overwhelming passion and the kind of sexual hunger seldom seen on celluloid. Unfortunately it was so ever-present and overwhelming it deteriorated into boring. Once I reached the halfway mark I began to use the fast-forward button more and more. Moreover we were given no clue as to the motives that led the protagonists into an ultimately destructive passion. This was no routine love affair but an all-consuming, relentless, escalating bodily abuse by way of their sexual organs. And we don't know why it happened. In my view that's the film's Achilles heel.

Get Over It

[Krustallos · 28 July 2003]

It's clear that a lot of people can't get past the explicitness of this film, which is a shame. I recall a lot of embarrassed giggling last time I saw it at the cinema. The art/pornography debate seems futile to me - this is a film about an obsessive sexual relationship/love affair and it tells it like it is. But it's about as far away from the likes of "Debbie Does Dallas 26" as you can get. The film is clearly serious in intent and there is a lot of beauty in it.

The subtle political content/context of the film is often overlooked - some of the few scenes shot outside the bedroom show groups of soldiers marching the other way from the direction our characters travel - and we all know where the rising Japanese militarism and nationalism of the 1930's led.

I think the best comparison is probably with a film like "Last Tango in Paris" which dealt with similar themes in a similar way - and was probably also pretty boring for those with a short attention span.

In the Realm of the Senses

[jboothmillard · 7/10 · 7 May 2013]

This French-Japanese film, also known as Ai No Corrida, I knew was listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, but then I found out that it featured real sexual intercourse, oral and various other intimate acts, so I had to see if a good story fit with it as well. Basically in 1936, Tokyo, former prostitute Sada Abe (Eiko Matsuda) works now as a maid in a hotel, and she is molested by the owner of the hotel Kichizo Ishida (Tatsuya Fuji), but she is not offended by it and the two of them begin an intense affair. They make love passionately with all kinds of sexual experimentation, drinking and other various forms of self-indulgence, and they do not seem to be bothered with people walking in on them, and to pursue his affair with her Ishida leaves his wife and family. As time passes Abe for some reason becomes jealous of Ishida, probably in terms of receiving pleasure, and she also becomes very possessive, but all he ever wants to do is make her happy, whether it means more intense experimental sex. They become so obsessed with their escalating attempts to achieve the ultimate love making experience and orgasm that he allows her to engage in sadomasochism, this mostly involves her strangling during lovemaking. Eventually it comes to the point when Ishida is killed by Abe strangling him to death, but she is not completely phased by his death, in fact she goes as far to cut off his penis and testicles, and with his blood write the words "Sada Kichi the two of us forever" on his chest. Being based on a true event the real woman was arrested for the crime of murder, but in fact many people who heard about the story were empathetic towards her because of the passionate love she had for the man. Also starring Aoi Nakajima as Toku, Meika Seri as Maid Matsuko and Taiji Tonoyama as Old Beggar. I will be honest and say first that I was most intrigued to see real lovemaking on screen, and it is not something I have seen often in a foreign film regarded by critics, but then I remembered seeing a clip of the controversial ending on a programme, very hard to watch, it is a very interesting insight into how extreme passion can sometimes go too far, a most watchable erotic drama based on a true story. It was number 28 on The 100 Greatest Sexy Moments. Very good!