In the Realm of the Senses

In the Realm of the Senses has been on my Amazon Prime watchlist for months and I have not been in the mood to watch it. Last night, I finally decided it was time to watch this controversial Japanese movie that was banned for its overt sexual content when it was first released. Now that I have seen this movie, I have mixed feelings about this rather average movie with lots of graphic sex. So what it is about?

 In the Realm of the Senses, based on a true story, is a disturbing examination of sexual obsession that requires its lurid candidness to fully explore the subject. Also, for some this movie will appear as thinly-veiled attempt to dress up pornography in the guise of an art film. Which interpretation an individual viewer is likely to take depends as much on who they are as on what they see in the movie. It's safe to say that anyone offended by graphic sexual displays will not be impressed by In the Realm of the Senses.

The film centers of the relationship between a man, Kichi (Eiko Matsuda), and a prostitute, Sada (Tatsuya Fuji). What begins as a normal affair turns into something darker and more demanding. Sada tells Kichi to stop sleeping with his wife, or she'll kill him. As the days pass, the two begin to devote almost all their time together, until seemingly every waking hour is spent engaging in a variety of sexual acts whose nature grows progressively more dangerous.

Most Puritanical Americans will not like this film for its sexual content, but more open-minded individuals should decide for themselves if this terribly graphic movie is good or bad.