This film may appeal to the Asian culture rather than Westerners. I enjoyed it to a point. Maybe I missed a lot in the translation. With the exaggerated acting, it comes over as a Japanese manga (erotic illustrated story), the characters broadly drawn and the situations verging on the impossible. In comic cartoons the artist can create and fantasise on anything - defying laws of gravity, excessive violence, physical attributes, whatever takes his fancy.
So it is here. Sold into prostitution by her so-called "uncle" a young girl is so innocent so naive she doesn't know what she has to do. Hence situations arise where clients hungry for sex chase her about her room. She thinks it is a game to be enjoyed. She manages to slip out of their clutches every time. Repetition can bore one to tears. There is a scene where three blind men clutching at entertwined bodies end up in each other's arms . In another scene a hefty sumo wrestler falls through an upper floor on to a copulating couple with such force that they can't disengage themselves. A glass or two of sake might help in appreciating these unbelievable situations.
On a more serious side the film does indeed show the plight of women 200 years ago when they were enslaved to men's desires having no say in their lives or in their futures. Having no means of support many were forced into prostitution. This is a strange note on which to finish this review, but the film itself ends on a strange note too. Many viewers may find the last scenes objectionable certainly not comical. Does it mean she has at last learnt her profession? or does it mean she is saying thank you to her "uncle" in his effort to help her.
So it is here. Sold into prostitution by her so-called "uncle" a young girl is so innocent so naive she doesn't know what she has to do. Hence situations arise where clients hungry for sex chase her about her room. She thinks it is a game to be enjoyed. She manages to slip out of their clutches every time. Repetition can bore one to tears. There is a scene where three blind men clutching at entertwined bodies end up in each other's arms . In another scene a hefty sumo wrestler falls through an upper floor on to a copulating couple with such force that they can't disengage themselves. A glass or two of sake might help in appreciating these unbelievable situations.
On a more serious side the film does indeed show the plight of women 200 years ago when they were enslaved to men's desires having no say in their lives or in their futures. Having no means of support many were forced into prostitution. This is a strange note on which to finish this review, but the film itself ends on a strange note too. Many viewers may find the last scenes objectionable certainly not comical. Does it mean she has at last learnt her profession? or does it mean she is saying thank you to her "uncle" in his effort to help her.
