...despite having ventured overseas, visiting several of the more exotic Asian cities...Thailand, Singapore, The Philipines, Japan, and what-not...and as such, had a chance to e-e-e-eagerly partake of...to put it mildly, some pretty 'wild, edgy, unbridled and over-the-top' cinema and live-stage erotica, promiscuously accented with a most decisively Asian flavor (...i.e., you haven't seen anything, until you've been to Phuket and Pataya Beach, in Thailand), this seasoned viewer must admit to a bit of a 'what the...?' feeling, when afforded the opportunity to check out one of the classic steamy Nikkatsu pieces, offered by distributor Impulse Pictures (...an offshoot of Synapse Films)...some of who's tantalizing offerings have been reviewed previously, in this venue. After all, Impulse's opening logo montage of archival Nikkatsu productions...flashing quick shots of sexual savagery, rape and fetish-tool accented debauchery...as is the supposed 'norm' for this genre...viewed in the comfort's of one's safe, domestic abode...especially as far as one who favors an age of erotica, more keyed to the domestic classic '70's...well, might tend to unnerve one, and make one wonder, '...man, what the heck have I gotten myself into?' However, in engaging one of the latest Impulse Pictures releases...namely the 1982 Nikkatsu-produced 'arouser', "Female Teacher Hunting"...it seems that with my very first foray into this genre, I was let off easy, with a relatively contrived and emulative, though a bit putting off, 'pink' excursion (...whew!! That was close...!!)...
...Midori, a rather attractive young student at an upper level school, accuses a rebellious young man at the school, Daisuke, of sexually attacking her, after some of her clothes are discovered having been left discarded and floating in the school's swimming pool, the next day. Sakatani (...Yuki Kazamatsuri, later of 2001's "Ichi, the Killer", and 2003/4's "Kill Bill, Parts 1 & 2"), one of the school's instructors, who seems to know at least some measure of Daisuke's character, suggests to him that he remain at school, and counter the charges with his innocence of the matter. Flat out rejecting such suggestion, under the assumption that no one would believe him, anyways, Daisuke vies to leave school...but not before genuinely raping Midori, in an attempt to shame her, as retaliation for her original accusation...
...as naive as Ms. Sakatani appears to be, in this harrowing matter, such naivete seems mute, when she escapes to a quite heated and torrid, though wholly emotionless affair, which she is having with a local law enforcement agent...an affair, which has apparently endured for a while, as Ms. Sakatani had recently recovered from an aborted pregnancy, presumed to have originated from one of their sexual encounters. Rendezvousing at a seaside cabin, they resume their covert and passionate relationship. In the meantime, Daisuke, having abandoned his educational endeavors and fled to parts unknown, as far as anyone was concerned, finds himself drifting aimlessly through shadowy underground streets; taken in by an elderly and seasoned street hustler, Daisuke succumbs to an unstable solace...hustling by night, and helping to operate his new benefactor's seaside fish shop by day...
...given both of them coincidentally in the same area, a chance re-encounter between Daisuke...a dropout, both educationally, and in life...and Ms. Sakatani...a naive and desperate woman seeking emotional fulfillment...seems inevitable; as such time, they do meet again, what will be the expected, or perhaps unexpected end result...and what will be left of them, at the result??...
...walking away from this short (...clocking in at a mere 66 minutes), sexually charged melodrama, this viewer could not help but be torn between a sense of appreciation and depreciation. Although the core of the dramatics depicted herein, story-wise, are quite ageless, this viewer could not help but recall a similarly rendered sequence of events, in the classic 1961 drama, "Splendor in the Grass", in the adaptive sense of 'guy and gal go their separate ways, after a scandal...each proceeding to engage in new lives, for better or for worse...and wind up meeting again, later in life'. Admittedly, this alternate, albeit parallel take on an age-old story, was quite compelling, and engaging; however, it was the seemingly harrowing and emotionless sexual encounters, which tempered the appreciative storytelling, herein. The rape scenes were expectantly savage enough, in these proceedings; however, the opportunities for genuine sexual passion, in alternate sex scenes seemed cold, heartless and repellent (...though the blame may clearly stand with how the characters themselves were written)...even going as far as genuinely tempering the savagery of the rape scenes, themselves. Though the passion clearly lies within the storytelling, as well as the vocalized motivations of the characters, the sexual encounters, as they are enacted, as a suggested means of expression...as physically and emotionally violent as these moments assuredly are, herein...seem grossly displaced, unreflected and contrary...
...as a picture of engaging and well-performed high-dramatics, "Female Teacher Hunting" (...the title of which might initially suggest to one, an obvious "Good Will Hunting" nod, but story and character-wise, proves something more poignant and applicable), though contrived, is nonetheless quite compelling and captivating in it's rendering; however, as an exercise in voyeuristically enticing erotica...well, that depends upon one's feelings toward simultaneously emotional and physical degradation. As was once coined in the '70's, '...different strokes, for different folks...'...
No comments:
Post a Comment