SURVEY MAP OF A PARADISE LOST is a hard film to call. Director Hisayasu Sato gives the audience a "harder" film than some of the earlier pinku cinema in terms of sex and violence - yet doesn't quite reach the plateau of artistic filth that you'll see in his later entry, NAKED BLOOD or perhaps Daisuke Yamanouchi's MUZAN E - which I personally feel this film obviously inspired. A strange sort of "middle-ground" in Japanese sleaze film history that will be of interest to pinky fans and the newer age of Japanese "nasty" films alike...
A reporter is doing research on local phone-sex workers, and finds himself entangled in a web of deviant sex, drugs, lies, and obsession which becomes much "darker" than his original assignment when the subject of his story becomes embroiled in a murder investigation...
SURVEY MAP OF A PARADISE LOST is oftentimes confusing and frustrating - but also pays-off in many aspects. The sex is as explicit as any pinku film that I've seen, and incorporates some deviant sex acts including menstrual-play (which along with the "investigative" angle leads me to the inevitable MUZAN E comparison), and shibari-style bondage that pinku-lovers will come to recognize. The "problem" that I have with the film is that it is somewhat hard to follow until the end - and although starts off hot-and-heavy with the sleaze - it lightens up through the second half. SURVEY MAP feels to me like a strange mix of new and old styles - equal parts MUZAN E (as I've mentioned before), GO GO SECOND TIME VIRGIN, and WIFE TO BE SACRIFICED - blending many Japanese exploit film elements, and probably inspiring some later films to come. Even so - I found parts of it weak enough that I can't give it an excellent rating - though I feel it's deserving of another look to try to see if I perhaps missed some plot-points. Regardless - I would definitely recommend this one to any J-pinky fans as it appears to be an pretty easily accessible yet overlooked film...7.5/10
A reporter is doing research on local phone-sex workers, and finds himself entangled in a web of deviant sex, drugs, lies, and obsession which becomes much "darker" than his original assignment when the subject of his story becomes embroiled in a murder investigation...
SURVEY MAP OF A PARADISE LOST is oftentimes confusing and frustrating - but also pays-off in many aspects. The sex is as explicit as any pinku film that I've seen, and incorporates some deviant sex acts including menstrual-play (which along with the "investigative" angle leads me to the inevitable MUZAN E comparison), and shibari-style bondage that pinku-lovers will come to recognize. The "problem" that I have with the film is that it is somewhat hard to follow until the end - and although starts off hot-and-heavy with the sleaze - it lightens up through the second half. SURVEY MAP feels to me like a strange mix of new and old styles - equal parts MUZAN E (as I've mentioned before), GO GO SECOND TIME VIRGIN, and WIFE TO BE SACRIFICED - blending many Japanese exploit film elements, and probably inspiring some later films to come. Even so - I found parts of it weak enough that I can't give it an excellent rating - though I feel it's deserving of another look to try to see if I perhaps missed some plot-points. Regardless - I would definitely recommend this one to any J-pinky fans as it appears to be an pretty easily accessible yet overlooked film...7.5/10