In the Realm of the Senses

If there's one thing in that's always bound to stir up a little controversy, it has to be sex. (Remember Shame last year?) I still don't get why sex in films gets more of an uproar than glorified violence. Before I get carried away, onto the review.

If I had to choose the film that's tied with sex and controversy, it has to be Nagisa Oshima's In the Realm of the Senses. What else do you expect from a film that was either cut or banned in every country? (It still gets the same treatment it originally got back in 1976.)

Amusingly, it isn't strictly about its very graphic sex scenes and explicit nudity. It also depicts the possessiveness that can come with a relationship. (The possessiveness shown here is much like the kind Adrian Lyne depicted in Fatal Attraction eleven years later.) No one said all relationships would end happily ever after.

However, there's no denying the pornographic nature of the film. (What else can you say after witnessing the leading lady giving the leading man an actual blow job?) It's understandable why it caused so much commotion back in 1976, more so why it still does thirty-six years later.

Anyway, In the Realm of the Senses is an...unique sort of film. Surprisingly, there's some depth to it amid all of the lurid sex scenes. I say some because when it comes to the non-sex scenes, it pales in comparison to Last Tango in Paris and Shame. It's a film you should watch if you dare.

My Rating: ****