Movie Review: Mourning Wife (Pink Eiga, VOD)

“The Mourning Wife” is the latest offering from the great folks at Pink Eiga. Directed by renowned pink director Daisuke Goto. The film itself is a take on the classic 1981 film-noir “The Postman Always Rings Twice” which starred Jack Nicholson & Jessica Lang and adapted by the ultra talented David Mamet.

Let's start this review off by saying I was leery at first about this film. I'm a huge film-noir buff and a big fan of the original 1939 novel. So I was curious to see how all of the themes of the book would jell with a Japanese adaptation. Moving the location from California to Japan actually worked very well.

I was expecting your typical pink film when I started watching this but this film surprised me. That's right, this isn't your typical soft-core film. It's a well acted, superbly directed sensual Japanese film-noir. The icing on the cake is Masahide Iioka's gritty cinematography. The visuals alone bring back the feeling of Kinji Fukasku's crime films from the 70's.

The score by Hitomi Oba fit the film perfectly, it really had that gritty sleazy vibe that brought back memories of Jimmy Page at his best. As you can tell, this is no ordinary pink film. It's leaps and bounds above your average pink film. Actual time and care has been taken to present three dimensional characters and a solid story.

This leads up to what you all are waiting for, the sex. Yes this is a pink film so your going to get your steamy scenes. There are about five steamy scenes that are really out of sight. This film doesn't throw sex in your face. It builds up the sexual tension to a fever pitch so when it happens it makes an impact. Think of all the steamy sex and sexual tension from say “Body Heat” and ratchet it up to 11. The women are attractive and they mix the sex up to keep things interesting.

I keep going back to it but this is one of those rare pink films where you actually watch the film and enjoy the story and wait for the plot twists to unfold. Your not just sitting there waiting for the sex to happen. When it does happen, it's out of sight.

The entire cast and crew and especially director Goto should be commended for making a film that works on many levels. If your looking for a cool little pot-boiler this is for you, if your looking steamy sex then this is for you as well.

This film will appeal to all audiences, not just fans of the Pink genre. Outstanding on all levels. If your interested in seeing the film head on over to Pink Eiga's official site http://pinkeiga.com/ the film is available to rent/buy streaming courtesy of there VOD services.

9.5/10