Celebrating it's 45th anniversary, Nikkatsu productions release of “Aroused by Gynopedies”, sets out to recapture the iconic Roman Porno era made popular in the 70's and 80's.
“Aroused by Gymnopedies” screened at the New York Asian Film Festival
Furuya is a director renown for making artistic films that have earned him international acclaim, but has left him with little money. It is during the shooting of his current film, that an actor pulls out after and altercation with another actor, where he subsequently finds himself unemployed and in debt.
Now broke, Furuya wanders around aimlessly, with feelings of being disenfranchised within his industry. This leads to him to meeting up with former student Yuka, whom he starts an affair with. Not the type to settle, Furuya soon becomes involved with other licit affairs with past acquaintances. As the film nears its closing, we learn that there is more to Furuya's jaded nature. There is a harrowing event that lead him down this path.
The direction in the film services the story well, but does nothing in particular to impress. It is the writing by director Isao Yukisada and Anne Horizumi that really breathes life into this movie. The erotic scenes are well shot and done tastefully. Despite his blase attitude, Furuya still treats his partners with a certain level of respect, which is something that was not always apparent in Roman Porno features. It is these romantic gestures that brings him out of the perverted archetype often found in Pink films. It makes him a more likable personality, which was needed to offset his pessimistic nature.
Itsuji Itao handles the roll of Furuya well, but the character was not really written to express a wide range of emotions. There are only a few instances where he has to portray any deeper feelings, but when he does, he executes it well. However, these moments are too seldom to put his performance to much critique. Sumrise Ashine who plays Yuka, the young student that Furuya spends most of his time with during the movie, had more depth as an actor. In her role, she was able to re-capture the traits of the stronger female leads during the Roman Porno era: strong, independent, sensual, with a certain amount of innocence. “Aroused by Gymnopedies” is her first film, and from this performance, I hope to see more of her in future productions.
The direction does fall a bit flat and the story is a bit tedious up until the end when everything gets tied together. I was rather impartial to the film until the last major plot point. It ends in such a poetic fashion that the movie is elevated as a whole.
Overall, “Aroused by Gymnopedies” is a love letter to the Roman Porno era, and the fans of the category will definitely enjoy it.
