• Mixtapes
    • Metal Mixtapes
    • Minor Key Mixtapes
    • Christmas Mixtapes
  • Mini Movie Reviews
    • Full List (A – Z)
    • Recent Reviews
  • Board Game Reviews
    • Recent Reviews
    • Children’s Game Reviews
    • Expansion Reviews
    • Full List (A-Z)
  • Reader Mail
  • About
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Mixtapes
    • Metal Mixtapes
    • Minor Key Mixtapes
    • Christmas Mixtapes
  • Mini Movie Reviews
    • Recent Reviews
    • Full List (A – Z)
  • Board Game Reviews
    • Recent Reviews
    • Children’s Game Reviews
    • Expansion Reviews
    • Full List (A-Z)
  • Reader Mail
  • About
  • Contact

My Favorite Movies 69 – In the Realm of the Senses (Nagisa Ôshima, 1976)

September 14, 2015

It’s hard to watch the 50 Shades of Grey movie without thinking “wait, that’s it?”  Aside from one scene where Mr. Grey actually tries to sort of hurt his partner, about all the movie’s constant talk of TEARING DOWN THE WALLS OF DECENCY AND OPENING THE DOORS OF OBSCENITY AND DEGRADATION boiled down to was

Spoiler
[collapse]
a bit of light spanking and the main dude acting like an asshole.  As a work of cinema it was no more erotic, taboo breaking, or boundary pushing than a James Bond double entendre.  In the Realm of the Senses, on the other hand, plumbs the depths of human sexuality in ways that few other films have done before or after—whether they were pornography or not.

Most people, when discussing In the Realm of the Senses, will quickly sum it up as “an art film porno.”  And, while In the Realm of the Senses happens to be a well-made movie with real scenes of sexual intercourse—this does not necessarily make it a “porno.”  While there is a lot of cock-grabbing that is pretty integral to the plot, the actual scenes of penetration could all be hidden by a few slightly altered camera angles without harming the film one bit.

I will admit, that at times, some of the sex in this film seems to be mostly pruriently motivated.  There is a sense that the director Nagisa Oshima got a little carried away with his newfound “so in this film we can show it going in!” freedom, and occasionally dipped his toes into gratuitous waters.  However, by and large, the sex, in a movie that is composed of almost nothing but, is really quite tasteful.  It is kinky and extreme in ways that Fifty Shades of Grey only wishes it could be, but it is also very tastefully done.

So, if this isn’t a porno, what IS the point of this film?  While I’m tempted, I think it might be tricky to suggest some kind of feminist message here, especially when the film exists in that complicated land of Japanese sexuality.  Still, it definitely possesses an intellectual appeal beyond mere voyeurism.  This is Fassbinderian level power games stuff.  There is nothing more cynically and despicably human than trying to exert physical and emotional control over others via sex.  The heady depths of obsession and lust on display here are powerful themes, and, impressively, the imagery is more than up to the task.

This primal, Dionysian imagery is captured with all the visceral ferocity of which the film medium is capable to create a powerful portrayal of obsession and lust-driven insanity. And, the actors are actually talented enough to pull off something that porn actors are almost never able to do–i.e. they actually make you believe they are enjoying it.  So, while In the Realm of the Senses is undoubtedly entirely successful as an erotic film, let’s not dismiss it as mere porn.

 

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Share

Film  / My Favorite Movies

Leave A Reply


Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Recent Comments

    • James Webber on Middle-earth Monday 29 – Framsburg
    • Anonymous on Top Ten Best Classic Black Metal Logos
    • isley.unruh on The Top 5 Best Black Metal Cover-photo Cock Shots
    • John Cole on The Top 5 Best Black Metal Cover-photo Cock Shots
    • Stephen Maynard on Lord of the Rings, The Lost Chapters I: A Wind from the West
  • Recent Posts

    • KOVID Movie-watching Kumite
    • 15 Lessons Learned in Cooking over the Last 15 Years
    • Travels in Middle-earth 75: The Three-farthing Stone
    • My Favorite Movies 77: (The Red Shoes, 1948)
    • An Open Letter to Mythical Meats RE: Your Woefully Uninspired Fantasy Meat Sticks
  • Categories

    • Art (5)
    • Books (12)
      • Only the Good Parts (6)
    • Comics (6)
    • Film (246)
      • Best Movies of the Decade (2)
      • Best Movies of the Year (5)
      • Cinema Scripture School (3)
      • James Bond Picture Books (2)
      • Mini Movie Reviews (98)
      • My Favorite Movies (77)
      • Year in Reviews (6)
    • Food and Cooking (9)
    • Games (51)
      • Brilliant Board Games (2)
      • Descent D&D (7)
      • Mini Board Game Reviews (12)
      • Painting in Miniature (5)
      • RE-Zork (10)
    • Holidays (21)
      • April Fool's (8)
      • Halloween (2)
    • Internet (30)
      • Memes I Missed (21)
      • The Art of Trolling (4)
    • Lists (49)
    • Mailbag Monday (86)
    • Math and Science (3)
    • Me (57)
      • Rousing Tales from Isley's Spirited Past (11)
    • Metal Music (120)
      • Album Artwork for the Ages (3)
      • Battle Vests of the KVLT & TR00 (3)
      • Best Metal of the Year (6)
      • Extreme Metal Radio Edits (2)
      • Mid-month Metal Masterpiece (74)
      • Racism in Metal (5)
    • Myth and Fantasy (8)
      • Archetypical (4)
    • Nerd Open Letters (20)
    • Non-Metal Music (100)
      • Minor Key Music (88)
    • Other (2)
    • Philosophy (3)
    • Sports and Fitness (7)
    • Spotlight Posts (58)
    • Tales from Center Valley High (19)
      • Goth Blog (6)
      • Jock Blog (7)
      • Snob Blog (6)
    • Tolkien (97)
      • The Lost Chapters (6)
      • Travels in Middle-earth (76)
    • TV (5)
    • War (7)
  • Archives

  • Meta

    • Log in
    • Entries feed
    • Comments feed
    • WordPress.org



  • Home
  • Mixtapes
    • Metal Mixtapes
    • Minor Key Mixtapes
    • Christmas Mixtapes
  • Mini Movie Reviews
    • Recent Reviews
    • Full List (A – Z)
  • Board Game Reviews
    • Recent Reviews
    • Children’s Game Reviews
    • Expansion Reviews
    • Full List (A-Z)
  • Reader Mail
  • About
  • Contact
© Copyright www.isleyunruh.com