The concept of food porn reaches a whole other level in Yoshida Kota‘s triptych, since this time, the second part of the term is as explicit as the first, even without being graphic.
“Sexual Drive“ is screening at the 62nd Thessaloniki International Film Festival
In the first part titled “Natto”, a traditional fermented soy bean dish, Kurita, a man with a movement disability visits designer Enatsu in his house, and the two have coffee in the most civilized manner. However, Kurita eventually starts describing an affair he has been having with Enatsu’s wife, Dr Megumi, after having a heart attack and recuperating in the hospital she works for. When Kurita discovers a ball of natto in the garbage, his narration takes a whole other direction, becoming quite perverse, as he describes in intimate detail his endeavors with Megumi, connecting the whole thing with the particular food in the most direct fashion. As his narration progresses, his attitude becomes something that looks more like bullying, while the segment starts to look like a thriller. The arrival of Megumi, after Enatsu’s departure, and her eating of natto with rice highlights the connection of sex with food, again through an approach that lingers between the perverse and the sensual.
In the second segment, “Mapo Tofu”, Akane, a woman who suffers from panic attacks, decides to take the car to buy mapo tofu from a convenience store that has it on sale. She is quite anxious while she is driving, and she does not notice a man walking, eventually hitting him. The man turns out to be Kurita, but despite his injury, the only thing he asks is for her to take him home. While she is driving, Kurita again starts talking about food, mapo tofu in particular, in the most sultry manner, while he soon reveals that he knew Akane from elementary school, where she used to bully him, as much as the fact that he is a masochist. If that was not enough, he asks her to hit him with her car once more. The whole episode wakes up something very different in Akane however, and her cooking eventually is also presented in a way that looks sexual.
In the third segment, “Ramen with extra back fat”, Ikeyama, a handsome man in a costume visits a ramen shop where no talking is allowed, led by someone talking to his cordless acoustic. The man speaking to him talks about Ikeyama’s mistress, Momoka, who, according to him, visited the same shop, and the ramen she tasted woke up intense sexual desire in her. The man speaking is soon revealed to be Kurita, with his rather detailed narration making Ikeyama gradually lose it, to the annoyance of the rest of the customers. His interaction with Kurita, also changes something in him, regarding his relationship with Momoca.
Yoshida Kota directs three segments that connect food with sex in the most entertaining ways, both contextually and cinematically. The first level is mostly presented through the concept of desire, with Kota highlighting the fact that the need for sex is very similar to hunger, and the joy one can receive from both, very similar. The way he uses the character of Kurita is also very smart, with him acting as the catalyst in all the relationships with his sudden appearances (and his box of chestnuts), with Tateto Sherizawa giving a performance that oozes perversion in the most direct, but also quite funny fashion. That what he says to his “victims” remains uncertain regarding the whether it is true or not also adds much to the context of the movie, heightening the sense of mystery his persona emits. The fact that this “sex messenger” is actually not an attracting individual, in terms of his looks, creates an impressive antithesis with the rest of the protagonists, and particularly the women, all of which are quite good-looking.
Lastly, that sex (sexual drive if you prefer) can be very helpful in various levels, from relationships overcoming angst, is another comment presented here, in the most playful fashion.
Cinematically, the ways Kota and his DP, Seki Masafuni, present food (both cooking and eating) as a titillating concept, are truly ingenious. The slow-motion, the intense close ups to the mouths, the sounds of chewing and sipping,(which is presented in hilarious fashion in the last segment where no one is allowed to speak in the ramen shop, but all are allowed to guzzle their ramen as soundly as possible), and the impressive montage of Momoka and Ikeyama eating the same dish are all greatly implemented in the film, actually making the term “food porn” sound more accurate than ever.
Regarding the rest of the cast, all female protagonists depict the aforementioned concept in the most eloquent way possible, while Hona Ikoka steals the show with her transformation from a nervous wreck, to an enraged driver, to an intense cook. Shogen as Ikeyama is also quite convincing in the way he portrays his effort to bottle up his angst but constantly fails.
“Sexual Drive” is a very entertaining triptych that thrives on the ingenious ways Yoshida Kota uses to present the connection between food and sex.
