11. Antiporno (Sion Sono, 2015, Japan)
The emphasis on the reboot was to move the films away from their misogynistic roots and emphasis on male desire to focus on female subjectivity and desire outside the male gaze. “Antiporno” has been hailed as a feminist film in that not only is most of the cast female, but that it explicitly criticizes Japan's double standards in which female identity is constrained by the virgin/whore binary. At the centre of the film is celebrity artist and novelist, Kyoko (Ami Tomite) who takes pleasure in tormenting everyone around her, especially her docile, and would-be porno actress, assistant Noriko (Mariko Tsutsui). The film begins with a typical day in the life of Kyoko, who is visited by the fashionista and editor of a high-end fashion magazine, Watanabe, to interview and document Kyoto's artistic process.
The emphasis on the reboot was to move the films away from their misogynistic roots and emphasis on male desire to focus on female subjectivity and desire outside the male gaze. “Antiporno” has been hailed as a feminist film in that not only is most of the cast female, but that it explicitly criticizes Japan's double standards in which female identity is constrained by the virgin/whore binary. At the centre of the film is celebrity artist and novelist, Kyoko (Ami Tomite) who takes pleasure in tormenting everyone around her, especially her docile, and would-be porno actress, assistant Noriko (Mariko Tsutsui). The film begins with a typical day in the life of Kyoko, who is visited by the fashionista and editor of a high-end fashion magazine, Watanabe, to interview and document Kyoto's artistic process.
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12. Apocalypse Child (Mario Cornejo, 2015, Philippines)
The script is inspired by the shooting of “Apocalypse Now” in the area, as the crew of the film had quite a lot of “contact” with local girls, with many of those affairs resulting in illegitimate children. One of those children is Ford, a champion surfer, whose mother, Chona supposedly had him with Francis Ford Coppola himself (thus the name), when she was just 14 years old. At the time the story begins, Ford has a new girlfriend, Fiona, who seems to have touched something very deep inside him. However, when his childhood friend Rich, currently a senator, returns in the area with Serena, his fiancee, a lot of secrets from the past resurface, that seem to be connected with Rich's father and Ford's mother. Furthermore, Rich seems to be testing his fiancee by making her take surfing lessons from Ford.
Mario Carnejo directs a very entertaining film, that is based much on his and Monster Jimenez's (who co-wrote the script) sense of humor (the scene where Chona makes her first appearance is a distinct sample), the dark secrets that shape the relationships of the characters, and the beauty of both the scenery and the actors. The concept of the children born by the affairs the crew of “Apocalypse Now” had with locals functions as a base, but is not addressed so much, as the film focuses on the antagonism between Ford and Rich, and the obvious erotic triangle that was bound to happen at some point. The entertaining aspect is also stressed by a number of artistically shot but definitely steamy sex scenes, and the fact that most of the protagonists usually roam around half naked. In that fashion, the film functions much as Hollywood productions in the setting of the beach.
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13. Makeup Room (Kentaro Sakai, 2015, Japan)
The script revolves around the lives and personalities of 5 AV actresses, their thoughts, dreams and on and off set issues, although the main lead is Kyoko, a makeup artist with a sympathetic ear, which tries to solve every kind of problem, while focused on making the girls look exactly as the director wants them to.
Kei Morikawa makes a point of showing to the spectator that the adult film industry is not completely different from the “regular” one and that the people in it, are not sex crazed drug addicts, as the majority believes, but regular individuals that simply love having sex and do not mind getting paid for it. In that aspect, Saki, who thinks she is ugly, is disappointed because she hardly ever gets picked in the auditions, Masako reminisces with a sense of nostalgia the time when she was the main lead and Masami acts like a star (she whines when informed that she is having a lesbian scene, because she just had a manicure) and everybody around her treats her so (She gets to pick first which bento she is going to eat). I have to admit though, Beni Ito, who plays the latter, is gorgeous.
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14. In The Room (Eric Khoo, 2015, Singapore)
The film is dedicated to the memory of the late horror writer and musician Damien Sin, who scripted Khoo's 1995 debut feature, “Mee Pok Man”. He died of a heroin overdose and loved writing supernatural stories. The six different stories take place in a single room, number 27 in Hotel Singapura, which actually symbolizes the country, and stretch from 1942 and the surrender of the British troops in Singapore to Japanese, to present times.
Eric Khoo had a very difficult task in his hands, since he only had 10 days to shoot a film that would function as a tribute to Damien Sin and his beliefs (according to Khoo, he had had very strong political values and felt strongly for the underdog), a time journey capturing the multicultural history of Singapore, and the first erotic movie of the country. Expectantly, in such a short time and with 104 minutes of duration, it was impossible for all goals to be achieved fully. In that fashion, the differences in Singaporean culture, particularly regarding sex, are presented well enough, but the same does not apply to the sociopolitical context, while the metaphor for the crumbling relationships and Sin's life through the crumbling of the hotel is difficult to discern. Shame and secrecy as concepts on the other hand, are presented quite well, through the fourth and sixth segment. The tribute to Damien Sin requires some knowledge at least about him in order to be understood fully, and I felt that some more time should be allocated to this aspect. Lastly, the erotic part is excellent , benefiting the most from the protagonists' looks, the great camera work, and Khoo's direction in that aspect. (Panos Kotzathanasis)
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15. The Handmaiden (Park Chan-wook, 2016, S. Korea)
The script is based on the novel “Fingersmith” by Sarah Waters and takes place in Korea of the 1930s, with the country under Japanese rule. Con man “Count” Fujiwara has managed to insert himself into the very secluded circle of Kouzuki, an eccentric hedonist who has become the man in charge of a very large estate, and plans to marry his niece, Lady Hideko, the actual heiress of the family's vast fortune. Fujiwara devices an intricate plan to “steal” Lady Hideko for himself, and asks the help of a ragtag girl, Sook-hee, a petty criminal who lives with her aunt's family, all of whom are of the same “profession.” The plan is for the girl to become Lady Hideko's handmaiden, and to help Fujiwara seduce her. However, things do not go as planned, since an attraction is formed between the two girls, as the many plot twists result in a much-unexpected story.
Chung Chung-hoon's cinematography provides great images, both in in the bucolic exterior of the mansion and the interior, with the S&M scenes in the literature club being the most impressive and abnormally original. The wide framing is excellent, and, in that fashion, many stills look like actual paintings, and occasionally, they actually are. The attention to detail is extraordinary, either in the shots of Kouzuki's treasured book collection or in the paintings Lady Hideko and Fujiwara draw or in the various calligraphic writings on scrolls and books. The same applies to the exterior shots with the ones in the rain and the full moon standing apart. The cinematography also works on another level, as what is actually occurring in the story is not presented through actions or words, but through the protagonists' facial expressions, in a film where nothing as it seems to be. In that aspect also, Chung Chung-hoon succeeds to the fullest.
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16. The Limit of Sleeping Beauty (Ken Ninomiya, 2017, Japan)
The story revolves around Aki Oria, a young girl who came to Tokyo ten years ago to become an actress, but eventually ended up staying in a circus of sorts, having a relationship with Kaito, the young man who introduced her, and acting as the magician's assistant, with her role being pretending to be hypnotized. Eventually, she manages to land a part after a successful audition, even becoming a star, before a scandal takes a significant toll to her reputation. Is that the reality though? And who is this clown-like figure she calls Butch that seems to always be with her? And why is that bedroom placed in a roof of a building? As Aki begins to lose her grip with reality and succumb to confusion, so does Ninomiya lead his audience down the same path.
On the other hand, Ninomiya also has a lot working for him. The fact that he shows a tendency to both adore and torture his protagonist, is one of the best aspects of the narrative, with Yuki Sakurai embellishing this approach with her acting in both cases. The way she portrays a number of different psychological statuses, including happiness, love, despair and madness is captivating, despite the fact that occasionally her performance is blurred by the deliriousness of the story and the intense music video aesthetics. The film also benefits the most by her obvious beauty and sensualism, with Ninomiya showing her nude in a number of artful (erotic) scenes, that definitely add to overall visual brilliance of the movie. The second most memorable performance in the film comes from Niino Furuhata as Butch, who functions as the personification of Aki's thoughts quite convincingly; in another performance that fits the narrative nicely. (Panos Kotzathanasis)
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17. Call Boy (Daisuke Miura, 2018, Japan)
The film revolves around Ryo, a university student who works part-time at a bar, trapped in an uneventful life, stripped of any kind of purpose. All these, however, change when his friend Tajima introduces him to Shizuka Mido, a woman who runs an escort service for women. Mido takes completely control of Ryo, first testing his abilities in sex by making him have intercourse with a Sakura, a deaf girl who seems to be under her protection, and actually evaluates his performance, giving him pointers to improve in bed. Soon Ryo finds himself with a distinct sense of purpose, to satisfy even the most “extreme” women's desires, while learning much about a gender he used to consider boring. By exploring their desires, he is eventually forced to take a look at his own, and consequently, himself as a whole.
Let us begin with the obvious. Daisuke Miura has directed a film that includes a plethora of the most graphic sex scenes ever to appear in a mainstream film, that combine realism, both in image and sound, with a visual prowess very rarely witnessed in erotic films. This elaborateness benefits the most by Jam Eh I's stylistic cinematography, which permeates the whole film, inducing it with a dreamy atmosphere that occasionally touches the borders of the noir. This sense is also implemented by Zensuke Hori's editing, that allows the film to proceed with a relatively slow pace, which seems to suit its general atmosphere in the best way. Hirokazu Kato's sound is also a major factor in the realistic presentation of the erotic scenes, while the jazzy soundtrack by Yoshihiro Hanno heightens the overall aesthetics of the film even more.
18. It Feels So Good (Haruhiko Arai, 2019, Japan)
Akita and Naoko are cousins but also used to be lovers some time ago. Since then, however, their lives have taken completely different paths, with him getting a divorce and becoming unemployed, partly due to the 3.11 impact and her getting betrothed to a military officer and rich in the meantime. When Akita is invited back to their hometown to attend her wedding, Naoko asks to meet him, supposedly to help her move her new TV to her new house, but it is soon revealed that her purpose is not only to reminisce about the past, and the two end up having sex. However, the deed wakes up Akita's sleeping libido and the two soon find themselves spending their time together having sex and talking about the past. Naoko insists that this will only last for 5 days, until her fiancé returns from a trip.
Also impressive is the way the sex scenes are designed and shot. Both protagonists are beautiful, but by no means outwordly beautiful, with the lack of full body make up (as is usually the tactic) adding to their realism, as the viewer can actually see the “flaws” in their skin and overall body. The same applies to the acts, which are not as cinematic as usual, but instead focus on realism, perhaps with the exception of the few scenes of public sex. The same applies to Chieko Suzaki's editing in those scenes, who uses long takes instead of many brief ones that usually suggest a change of position. (Panos Kotzathanasis)
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19.Under Your Bed (Mari Asato, 2019, Japan)
Ever since his childhood, Naoto (Kengo Kora) has been neglected and ignored by his parents, his classmates and especially by girls, to the point not even the fact he was missing from his class photo was noticed by anyone but himself. Obviously, when someone addresses him and talks to him, he feels quite special, especially when this person is Chihiro (Kanako Nishikawa). After they have had some coffee together and she expressed interest in his hobby, the breeding of guppies, Naoto becomes obsessed with her, even though a second meeting does not take place for quite some time. Years later, after he finally found out where she lives, Naoto sets up his own fish store in the vicinity of where Chihiro, now married and a mother, lives with her husband. As he observes the couple, even sneaking into her home when Chihiro's husband is gone, he eventually finds out how she is been abused and humiliated by him. While still wanting to keep his distance, he now also feels a need to act and stop Chihiro's husband.
However, while this might give the film's narrative some psychological depth, it also confronts the viewer with a troublesome dilemma. The perspective of what is essentially a stalker or peeping tom, the view through his binoculars or telescope become our view as well, adding to the discomfort you feel with the central character. Especially in the scenes during which Naoto actually witnesses the physical abuse of Chihiro, become quiet disturbing, considering what he does is psychological abuse, not matter how much his voice-over romanticizes these facts. (Rouven Linnarz)
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20. No Longer Human (Mika Ninagawa, 2019, Japan)
Opening on one of his many failed suicide attempts, in which he loses his lover but himself survives, we are then introduced to Osamu Dazai's domestic situation, to his alcohol and cigarette abuse and to his intense womanising. His long-suffering wife Michiko tends to her two little kids while pregnant with a third, and also takes care of a drunken Osamu if he does return home some nights, turning a blind eye to his affairs because she knows that is what fuels his talent. A tryst with a wannabe-writer fan Shizuko results in a pregnancy and a massively successful book “The Setting Sun”, for which he takes inspiration from Shizuko's personal diary. But that still doesn't stop him getting in a relationship with Tomei, who is initially reluctant to fall for this womaniser but eventually gives in to his handsome looks and evident talent. This relationship, in particular, gets rather toxic and as his dependence on alcohol, cigarettes and the fairer sex increases, the substance abuse begins to take a toll on his health, while his relationships start affecting his life and work as a whole.
Instead of a well-rounded biopic, Ninagawa, working off a script by Kaeko Hayafune, decides to focus on Dazai's relationships with these three women, who were in fact part of a long line in his life, and how they affected his life, both personally and professionally. Dazai was a man that took influence from the ladies in his life for his works, portraying them either exactly as his muses or their polar opposites. In that sense, readers and contemporaries think that the character in “Villon's Wife” is based on his own wife when in fact Ninagawa purports that it's the exact opposite of her, “The Setting Sun” is said to be a novel of his and Shizuko's affair, and his last great work “No Longer Human” stemming from the toxicity of his relationship with Tomei. The depiction of these relationships is admittedly quite well done and the emotions brought forth very raw and convincing. (Rhythm Zaveri)
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