Tokyo Decadence

Murakakmi's Tokyo Decadence starts out powerfully with an unflinching look at the shifts put in as a 'Delivery Health' (as these women get called in 21s century Japan) by hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold, Miho Nikaido. The crisp colours, seductive light and slowly dollying camera give a high productive sheen to the mesmerising scenes of Nikaido being humiliated by a Yakuza couple, then assisting a dominatrix in the wished-for degradation of one of her regular johns.

Murakami seems to be highlighting the amorality of Bubble-rich Japan, his characters speechifying against the 'real' whores in the corporate and government fields. The sexual and comedy elements are well-balanced, the highlight being the lost dildo in the toilet scene. Nikaido shows an impressive range, both vulnerable in and enraptured by her line of work. She also enlivens a long walk with a wild-eyed look she achieves in the film's final third.

However, her performance cannot rescue the meandering, insipid final episode when Nikaido goes in search of her true love. The introduction of a 'courage' pill is a clumsy plot device. The final section lacks clarity, and even continuity seems to be a minor concern. It is as if Murakami, having established his world so finely in the first half, is now at a loss regarding what he wants to say about it. A series of episodic and uninspiring tableaux plays out, the slightly surreal elements being the only thing that stops it from descending into an old-fashioned morality tale.

Tokyo Decadence is a film of two halves, with the director only trying in the first.

In Tokyo, the hooker Ai (Miho Nikaido) works in an escort agency specialized in perversions and kinky sex. Ai is submissive to her clients and accepts to be humiliated, to perform sadomasochism and bondage and threesome. However she is unhappy with her life for some reason.

The Brazilian VHS of "Topâzu", a.k.a. "Tokyo Decadence" is a soft-porn labeled Erotic-Thriller. There are many scenes of Miho Nikaido performing kinky sex with her clients and basically that is all. Her unrequited love was edited from this 92 minutes version where the fortuneteller instructions are senseless. It is hard to understand why the producers allow this procedure. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Tokio em Decadência" ("Tokyo in Decadence")

Most films dealing with prostitution that I've seen have been very straight forward. In other words, the characters have been very loud, and to the point about what's going on in their heads. However, the lead character in Tokyo Decadence comes out differently than you might expect . In most films that portray prostitution as a hard and unsettling life, ( Whore, Leaving Las Vegas...) the main character is trying real hard to act like they enjoy what they're doing. But in Tokyo Decadence, it's quite the contrary, the lead character hardly says a word through the whole film. But you still learn so much from her expressions and way of dealing with the many different wack-job clients she has. (These include dominatrix, sadists, and necrophiles to name a few.) This is the first film like this where I've actually felt sympathy for the main character. She obviously has big dreams, presses forward to improve her situation in life constantly, only to be brought down by the degrating clientel she encounters every night. Overall, the acting is superb! As far as story is concerned, there is a serious lack of information given toward the middle of the movie. She keeps carrying around a picture of her with this guy, even going as far as buying expensive jewelry as good luck charms to get him back, ....but we don't know who he is, how she knows him, ..nothing. But despite, minor holes in the plot, the film never loses sight of the point it's trying to make. And as I said, subtlety is what makes this film powerful. It's what the characters aren't saying and showing that brings you closer to the film. One last note, the film DOES live up to it's NC-17 rating. But then again, most asian films do.

This review is for the 1:49 (109 minute) version of the film in Japanese with English subtitles. I believe this is the 'uncut' version. I was quite worried before watching this film about what I was letting myself in for after having read some of the reviews. I feared it might be something like some of Pasolini's films. I needn't have worried. Admittedly you might not want to show it to your maiden aunt.

It's a sort of art house version of Showgirls (1995). The hallucination scenes reminds me a bit of the Mandrax infused scenes in Celine and Julie go boating (1974). So as a bit of trivia I'm guessing that is the drug Ai takes.

It's supposedly a warts and all look at the life of a Tokyo prostitute, Ai, who specialises in S & M set at the time of the economic bubble. Obviously this could just be a flimsy excuse for a lot of gratuitous footage under the guise of Art. I'm inclined to give it the benefit of the doubt. It's never going to be a great film, but at least it does pass the Bechdel test.

Films with a similar idea that spring to mind are Klute (1971) and Strella (2009). Both of which seemed like a more realistic portrayal, particularly Strella.I may be being a little unfair since some of it could have got lost in translation.

Very erotic and sick at the same time. This movie leads you down the dark allies of human sexuality. But it touches more than the loins. This is mostly because of the innocence of the Ai, the main character. Her quest for true love and happiness stands in a deep contrast with the dark nighttime of Tokyo, ridden with perverse sex and cocaine.

This movie is a must for people interested in culture, sexuality and gender roles. It gives perfect examples of how power play somehow gets us excited, but mainly rests upon images of gender and sex we have invented inside our culture. It's a little Foucault, it's a little de Sade, it's just very interesting.