A Nikkatsu Roman Porno and Directors Company collaboration between director Toshiharu Ikeda and writer Takashi Ishii (whose script is based on Shoji Yuki’s novel), “Scent of a Spell” is a movie that brings in the characteristics of both schools, in a rather intriguing package. Let us take things from the beginning though.
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While Tetsuro, a young man, is returning home from a bar in heavy rain, he comes across a woman, Akiko, who is trying to kill herself by jumping off a bridge. On a whim, he saves her, and even takes her to his home, where he convinces her to stay for a while until she gets hold of herself again. Eventually, she learns that she has escaped from her violent husband, a doctor named Yutaka, and decides to protect her from him. The two soon start living properly together, becoming a couple essentially, but Akiko still seems to have some loose ends regarding her husband, while Tetsuro soon finds out that there is more to her story that she lets on.
Toshiharu Ikeda directs a film that is rather pessimistic, with the fact that the relationship in its center is doomed from the get go becoming evident from the beginning. At the same time, and under the same prism, that desire is something that moves beyond morality, and logic after a fashion, emerges as a central comment here, in an approach that is essentially inherent to the whole of Japanese exploitation.
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Furthermore, it is also rather interesting how he incorporates the three, rather steamy and prolonged sex scenes in the movie. The first one signals the beginning of a relationship that begins based only on desire: during the second, the first seeds of doubt start appearing, particularly on Tetsuro, while the last one essentially signals the end, in a swan song that begins the conclusion of the story in a way as dramatic as its initial premises implied.
At the same time, the fact that ‘this is a man’s world’ becomes particularly evident, especially through the attitude of Yutaka, whose privileged notion of himself and his sex have led to some decisions that can only be described as absurd. Just like Ikeda’s 1984 film, “Mermaid Legend”, the only way women can find to survive in this setting are through their sexuality and/or violence, with the question of what Akiko has chosen dictating Tetsuro’s attitude, their relationship, and in the end, the whole movie.
It is also interesting how Ikeda implements water in the movie, with the sea and the rain playing crucial roles in the ways the story unfolds. DP Yoshihiro Yamazaki captures nature in a way that occasionally dictates the story, with the same applying to the lighting, with the succession of the natural phenomena mirroring the psychological status and the overall relationship of the protagonists. The black-and-white violent scenes add another element of visual flair, while the implementation of the bat is also intriguing, considering that, particularly at the time and through its connection with baseball, it could be perceived as a symbol of masculinity.
Akimasa Kawashima’s editing results in a mid-tempo that works quite well, while both the flashbacks and the erotic scenes are well placed within the narrative.
Mari Amachi as Akiko Takimura is very convincing as both the victim and the femme fatale, with the ways she gets in and out of the two roles being equally impressive. The fact that she looks particularly good naked also adds to the titillation the movie offers, on par with the ‘rules’ of Roman Porno. Johnny Okura as Tetsuro is equally good in the way his psychological downward spiral begins and continues, while his chemistry with Amachi is definitely among the best aspects of the movie. Choei Takahashi as Yutaka highlights his condescension in the best way, in another competent performance here.
“Scent of a Spell” is a very rewarding movie, particularly through the way Ikeda handles sex, violence, crime, pessimism and social issues in a package that remains entertaining from the beginning to the end of its 90 minutes.
