In the Realm of the Senses
Some passions burn with such intense fire that they scorch everything in their path, leaving ash in its wake. In the Realm of the Senses is based on the sensational true crime story of Sada Abe--portrayed by Eiko Matsuda--who murdered her lover, Kichizō Ishida--portrayed by Tatsuya Fuji--and upon capture, was discovered to be in possession of his dismembered genitalia. It became a lurid sex scandal which both shocked and stirred the nation of Japan in 1936. In the Realm of the Senses is a highly graphic dramatization of the highly sexual affair preceding this, and of the mutual destruction born from it.
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What makes In the Realm of the Senses such an infamous picture are the graphic depictions of unsimulated sex by the lead actors. The practice of unsimulated sex has largely been reserved for pornography, and those associations are so tightly bound that the presence of it in this film raises the inevitable question: is In the Realm of the Senses a pornographic movie? Is the psychosexual plot merely a layer of skin to be shed in favor of depictions of actual sex, feigning being an "art movie"? Alternately, does pornography preclude a story with a deeper emotional context, as it is with the obsessive and ruinous sex in In the Realm of the Senses? Perhaps the most popular definition of what is pornographic was famously opined in 1964 by United States Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, when he stated that, "I can't define pornography, but I know it when I see it", the irony of this purely subjective statement for our purpose is the suggestion that it cannot be defined. For the sake of arguing against In the Realm of the Senses being pornography, it should be noted that the graphic sexual content is, on the whole, not designed to arouse, although it certainly is intended to shock. The sensationalist source material is the kind which would make any paper looking to bolster its readership with such a vivid account jump for joy, especially a scandal which is as imprinted on the collective psyche for Japan as the likes of Lorena Bobbitt is for America. Writer and director Nagisa Oshima skirted the strict censorship laws in Japan by listing the film as a French movie--hence the French titles--and the film was also processed and edited in France. The irony here is that one of the key themes in In the Realm of the Senses pertains to a link between sex and death; while not unique to Japan, the film explores a fetishistic link between the two sometimes associated with Japan and predilections associated with the country. In conjunction with the unsimulated sexual performances by these two daring actors, In the Realm of the Senses also has the chilling effect of giving the conclusion of the film a snuff-like quality, exceedingly hard to compartmentalize. The feel inexorably tied to In the Realm of the Senses is that it is a "dangerous" film, intent on leaving the audience unsettled, from the increasingly rough-to-violent sex fated for a grim end to the feeling that there is no escape from this vortex into the abyss.
It is clear that there are deep seated psychological issues at work within Sada which affect her sexually, and are teased throughout In the Realm of the Senses. Sada talks of how she is drawn to an "upstanding man" like Kichizō describes himself, or her clients including an alderman. The real Sada Abe's father was also described in a similar way, and the film draws the connection that Sada is constantly looking to appeal to her father for love by her attraction to fatherly men, as well as her fixation on discipline, or abuse administered in a disciplinary way. After she chokes Kichizō one night, she spins a top in a child-like way. She dreams of playing a game with a man who is likely her father, which underscores that Sada never really developed out of her childhood, and the fixations have rooted in her like a cancer. Sada is a maid in a hotel, although the presence of geishas and other sexually overt moments suggests that the transition from her prior career as a prostitute is merely superficial. Essentially, sex is a persistent state for Sada, a part of her livelihood and in her blood, which proves to be a match for Kichizō's own lasciviousness. The vividness of the sexual encounters and her sexual frankness force us into an uncomfortable position of identifying with her, unable to merely keep Sada at a safe distance from our tender sensibilities. This makes her a dangerous protagonist, because it is clear that she is unstable, willing to attack her employer with a knife for slandering her, and other psychotic examples; even her ominous tattoo on her earlobe of a scorpion does not bode well for those who get too close to Sada. Sada (and Kichizō's) sexual obsession for one another is symbiotic; they enable one another as they feed their addiction for each other's bodies. Sada talks of how she was diagnosed with being "acutely sensitive"; the act of sex with Kichizō is suggested to be more powerful for her and her body reacts with more intensity, fueling her addiction by virtue of the body's chemical reaction when mating. Both Sada and Kichizō lose perspective on their worldly responsibilities, like eating or their finances, and spiral deeper and deeper into depravity, suffering withdrawal when apart. Sada's obsession often turns to jealousy of Kichizō's wife, making her story part Cinderella, part Fatal Attraction. Almost immediately following their first sexual encounter--very early in the film at that--the focus of In the Realm of the Senses becomes almost exclusively that of Sada and Kichizō's sexual relationship. The reason is that because they are so obsessed with each other, there simply is no other world for them to care about, and the film mirrors their sole interests in coupling. It creates an intentionally claustrophobic, narrow view, where everything else in their lives is oblivion.
Recommended for: Fans of a film which is about the descent into mutual ruin by two obsessive lovers. In the Realm of the Senses rarely glamorizes its frank sexual content, but exists to provide an unfiltered contemplation, a cautionary testament about the dangers of compulsive indulgence and enabling, and the associations between sex and death.
It is clear that there are deep seated psychological issues at work within Sada which affect her sexually, and are teased throughout In the Realm of the Senses. Sada talks of how she is drawn to an "upstanding man" like Kichizō describes himself, or her clients including an alderman. The real Sada Abe's father was also described in a similar way, and the film draws the connection that Sada is constantly looking to appeal to her father for love by her attraction to fatherly men, as well as her fixation on discipline, or abuse administered in a disciplinary way. After she chokes Kichizō one night, she spins a top in a child-like way. She dreams of playing a game with a man who is likely her father, which underscores that Sada never really developed out of her childhood, and the fixations have rooted in her like a cancer. Sada is a maid in a hotel, although the presence of geishas and other sexually overt moments suggests that the transition from her prior career as a prostitute is merely superficial. Essentially, sex is a persistent state for Sada, a part of her livelihood and in her blood, which proves to be a match for Kichizō's own lasciviousness. The vividness of the sexual encounters and her sexual frankness force us into an uncomfortable position of identifying with her, unable to merely keep Sada at a safe distance from our tender sensibilities. This makes her a dangerous protagonist, because it is clear that she is unstable, willing to attack her employer with a knife for slandering her, and other psychotic examples; even her ominous tattoo on her earlobe of a scorpion does not bode well for those who get too close to Sada. Sada (and Kichizō's) sexual obsession for one another is symbiotic; they enable one another as they feed their addiction for each other's bodies. Sada talks of how she was diagnosed with being "acutely sensitive"; the act of sex with Kichizō is suggested to be more powerful for her and her body reacts with more intensity, fueling her addiction by virtue of the body's chemical reaction when mating. Both Sada and Kichizō lose perspective on their worldly responsibilities, like eating or their finances, and spiral deeper and deeper into depravity, suffering withdrawal when apart. Sada's obsession often turns to jealousy of Kichizō's wife, making her story part Cinderella, part Fatal Attraction. Almost immediately following their first sexual encounter--very early in the film at that--the focus of In the Realm of the Senses becomes almost exclusively that of Sada and Kichizō's sexual relationship. The reason is that because they are so obsessed with each other, there simply is no other world for them to care about, and the film mirrors their sole interests in coupling. It creates an intentionally claustrophobic, narrow view, where everything else in their lives is oblivion.
Recommended for: Fans of a film which is about the descent into mutual ruin by two obsessive lovers. In the Realm of the Senses rarely glamorizes its frank sexual content, but exists to provide an unfiltered contemplation, a cautionary testament about the dangers of compulsive indulgence and enabling, and the associations between sex and death.