As Nikkatsu's Roman Porno series continues, the company needed some fresh blood to handle the newest titles, and Koji Shiraishi, one of the masters of J-horror, who has recently started moving into new paths as in the case of “A Beast in Love” seemed like an ideal candidate. The result is “Safe Word”, a movie dealing with the world of BDSM, paralleling it with the world of idols while including the meta element of the mockumentary. The result is quite interesting.
Misa The Killer is an underground idol, who, as the movie begins, is being filmed closely by a female director for a documentary. One day, during one of her performances, the trans manager of BDSM club “H” catches her during a rage fit and decides to headhunt her to become a dominatrix in his establishment. Misa does not realize from the beginning what it is about, and is even enraged when she finds out the truth. However, the appearance of the top dominatrix of the club, Kanon, soon has her changing stance completely, and Misa finds herself enjoying being “the victim” as much as the “aggressor” in the club. Gradually, Kanon's dominance over her grows, while Misa still continues acting as an idol. An antagonist, her feelings for Kanon, and an incident with the owner of the club complicate things even more, while the director of the documentary never stops shooting.
Koji Shiraishi's approach, which combines the sensuality of the Roman Porno with S&M elements, drama, romance and the mockumentary, emerges as rather intriguing, as he handles all of them adequately, in a feat that is not exactly easy. At the same time, the purpose of the relaunch of the series, to present erotic films that are grounded in reality and also address female audience, seems to be met fully here, as he explores both the whole concept of BDSM and the way it works nowadays and the psychology of the people working in the field. Granted, the owner arc and the whole concept of shouting out about one's perverseness is somewhat excessive, in manga-esque fashion, but this is the only aspect of the narrative that goes that far in that direction.
On the other hand, the paralleling of the BDSM world with that of idols is quite interesting as a comment. Furthermore, the movie benefits the most by the deep analysis of Misa and particularly the ways she transforms from an aggressor type to Kanon's “pet” and again to an aggressor towards her clients, in an aspect that adds much depth to the narrative, while allowing the audience to empathize with her, at least to some level. The element of the ever-present director, in the form of the documentary that never stops being shot, cements the layered approach Shiraishi implements in the best fashion.
Chisako Kawase is great in the role, especially regarding her transformations, even if her angry moments could have been a bit more measured, while her portrayal of the pleasure Misa undergoes in the hands of Kanon is probably the best trait of the movie, at least in terms of sensualism, particularly the way she moans and shivers during their endeavors. Torinomi Nagisa as Kanon is equally convincing in her laconic, strict portrayal of the ‘ultimate mistress', and her chemistry with Kawase, excellent. Furthermore, the “grounded to Earth” aspect of the movie also benefits from the overall appearance of the two protagonists, who are beautiful, but neither pornographically (through plastic surgeries etc) nor in star-studded fashion, like Erica Sawagiri or Yu Aoi for example, instead exhibiting a ‘next-door' beauty.
Kei Ikeda and Ryoka Neya's cinematography moves in the same direction, with the BDSM club presented not as an underground dark place, but as a bright, colorful location, with the aforementioned approach actually being reserved for the idol world, in a choice that could be perceived as a comment. Shiraishi's own editing results in a relatively fast pace that works nicely here, although some episodes could have been omitted.
“Safe Word” is not exactly a pink film that also functions as an indie drama, as in the case of “Hand” from the same series for example, but still presents a rather fresh approach to the pink film and the presentation of the BDSM world, while pleasantly titillating throughout.
