In the Realm of the Senses (Blu Ray)
Directed by: Nagisa Oshima
Written by: Nagisa Oshima
Starring: Eiko Matsuda, Tatsuya Fuji

“Wake up the kids, In the Realm of the Senses is on!” is a sentence you will never hear when In the Realm of the Senses is on. Even though the title might evoke images of a magical world of wonder and mystery, this film is definitely not for the kiddies. In fact, it’s probably not for most adults either. Anyone with an aversion to the consumption of pubic hair, beware.

The story is quite simple; set in 1936 Japan, an inn owner and one of his maids – a former prostitute – fall head over heels for each other and engage in a lust driven sexual journey, fucking in multiple positions and in front of multiple people for practically the entire running time of the film. It’s sort of like Pretty Woman, only I don’t recall Richard Gere ever inserting a hard boiled egg into Julia Roberts vagina in that one. Could be wrong though. The relationship consistently teeters on the edge of violence and jealousy, but the second you think someone’s going to emotionally burst, they just fuck again. And again. It’s actually sort of interesting; the relationship they manage to create between each other is built entirely on a hedonistic, fancy-free way of living. Like a nymphomatic Willy Wonka I guess. Candy and chocolate all day and all night, regardless of the consequences!

Director Nagisa Oshima made a bold decision to shoot all of the sex scenes using a technique called ‘non-simulated sex’, popularized by the ‘porno’ genre of filmmaking. I guess the most recent example of a film so outwardly and gratuitously indulgent in hard core sexuality on a ‘mainstream’ (as in, outside the porn industry) scale would be John Cameron Mitchell’s ‘Short Bus’; a film that tried so hard to be daring that it forgot to be a good movie. The sex scenes in that one screamed ‘Look at me! Look at me!’ so hard it reminded me of a naked dude walking around a music festival exclaiming ‘It’s only natural! Nude is beautiful!’ when in reality, everybody’s gawking at his genitals and ignoring his ‘statement’. In short, Short Bus should’ve been tazed by security. Having said all of that, I didn’t have quite the same reaction to In the Realm of the Senses. I guess the sexual journey in Oshima’s film was less obnoxious because it felt more sincere and dangerous and less like a Tupperware party.

As the DVD cover says, ‘it graphically depicts the all-consuming, transcendent – but ultimately destructive – love of a man and a woman living in an era of ever escalating imperialism and governmental control.’ I’m not sure that the national/political themes are as clear without some external contextualizing, but I wasn’t really looking for them anyways. It was the idea of unrestrained indulgence that interested me. Less of a Romeo and Juliette and more of a Japanese Sid and Nancy of the 1930’s, both based on actual events and sharing a similar tragic end. And wow, what an ending it is. I wouldn’t dare spoil it.

Overall, I don’t know that I’d ever feel the need to revisit In the Realm of the Senses (not to be confused with the great 2004 documentary In the Realms of the Unreal; this film is NOT narrated by Dakota Fanning!) but it was certainly an interesting watch, if not a tiny bit repetitive at points. But hey, I guess that’s what sex is all about. Rep-e-ti-tion.

Disc Details

I’m a huge fan of Criterion’s blu ray releases, but I’m still baffled by the decision process in which films are granted the high def treatment. Am I the only one shocked that this film, among all of the other possible titles, made the list? Either way, In the Realm of the Senses is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1 and is encoded with MPEG-4 AVC in full 1080p glory. It’s simply amazing; you can see every individual pubic hair in glorious clarity. But seriously, Criterion has been doing a kick ass job with these releases and this film definitely benefits from the HD treatment. The film grain is present, as it should be, and the colours are quite vibrant. I’m not much of an audio expert, so I’ll say it gets the job done. As for supplemental material, you’ve got an audio commentary with film critic Tony Rayns, a series of interviews with the actors and director, deleted scenes, the U.S. trailer and a booklet featuring an essay by Japanese film scholar Donald Richie and a reprinted interview with the director. Also worth noting, this disc comes in Criterion’s new clear plastic blu ray cases, for those of you who weren’t fans of their cardboard packaging. — Jay C.

SCORE:

Recommended If You Like: Salo, I am Curious-Yellow/Blue, Pretty Woman