R100

Sometimes it's nice to watch a movie for its mere shock value. R100 is exactly one of those. On the other hand it never was able to transcend the provocative imagery and content like Fight Club or Luis Buñuel (with which the film was compared) did in their time. Director Hitoshi Matsumoto tells the tale of a masochistic man who experiences supernatural orgasms by being extremely humiliated. After a while reality and fiction begin to merge and the man starts to discover his sadistic side. Luckily this isn't a pretext to make a softcore SM movie, but it also doesn't surpass the level of a superficial b-production. The final twenty minutes are a bit too ridiculous for my taste (because they're so out of sync with the rest of the movie), that I can't say I've enjoyed R100 that much. Nevertheless it had some great moments because of the dark humor, meta-jokes and entertaining twists.

A reticent, stiff and introverted office worker, Takafumi, joins a secret BDSM club. He is thrilled to discover that not only do the club's offerings include a wide variety of ways in which he is beaten and humiliated, the treatments are compulsory and unexpected as to time, place, manner and mistress. Everything and anything appears to be on the menu including public humiliation, pain, submission, spitting, bullying, personal insults, blindfolds, ropes and much more. When enforcers from the club invade his office, hangouts, and home, and make it clear that not even Takafumi's relatives are immune from abuse, he doesn't know whether to be scared or thrilled. In truth he seems to be both. When one of the club's mistresses is killed by accident while administering a beating, Takafumi invites the wrath of the gigantic, powerful and temperamental company CEO. This quirky, kinky, unconventional, offbeat and irreverent offering from one of Japan's most popular icons, is delightfully crude. While lacking in depth, the films is playful and fun to watch. Seen at the raucous midnight madness series of the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.

I've seen some bizarre films in my time, but the Japanese meta-comedy, R100 has to be one of the most bizarre. It opens with a young lady kicking the hell out of a man for no apparent reason in a restaurant. She leaves, but for some reason he goes after her and she turns around to beat him up some more and throws him down stairs. She then removes her clothes to reveal a highly skimpy leather fetish outfit underneath whilst the man looks up and his face disturbingly distorts into a manic grin with some atrocious Moviemaker ripple effects. That's when you realise that this film is going to be weird. However, it only gets weirder!

In a plot similar to David Fincher's The Game, R100 centres on the idea of a family man joining a club which promises euphoric pleasure by hiring attractive young women to beat the crap out of you at any random moment. The catch is that membership lasts a year and you can't cancel. You also can't touch or hurt any of the girls. That's the intriguing premise of this delightfully wacky film. Anyone expecting a clear narrative can leave now. The less you know the better, I knew virtually nothing about this film and came out feeling highly amused and bemused in equal measure.

Not everything in R100 does work. I found it a tad too sentimental at times with the relationship between the dad and son being rubbed in our faces. The whole wife in a coma thing was also over-played to get a heart-warming reaction from the audience. A lot of things in the first hour also start to feel a little repetitive with the same jokes being played again and again. However, things take an interesting turn when events turn darker by involving the innocent family. I also really liked the postmodern aspect by showing that this is just a film directed by a 100 year-old man who says that no one will understand the film unless they're 100, hence the film's title!

Things turn seriously koo-koo in the last 30 minutes and the film completely rips up the film school rulebook in an infectiously anarchic manner. All kinds of loopy ideas are thrown at the screen and we're left with a big puddle-like mess on the floor, however it's a mess that's hard to shake out your head. I'm not going to forget the dominatrix army marching to Beethoven for quite a while! It's surreal to say the least and lacks any kind of explanation, although I'm pretty sure that there is some kind of hidden political message in there somewhere. Trying to find it is high-on impossible though!

R100 won't be everyone's cup of tea. The best thing to do is to leave your brain outside the door and just go along for the big barmy ride! It turns out to be quite an ambitious little number, however not all of its ideas are effective or explored enough. One thing's for sure though, you won't forget it in a hurry! I for one would much rather see a film I'm going to remember the next day than some throwaway action film that will be forgotten in minutes. I admired R100 quite a bit.

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R100 is an exceptionally weird movie, but then I wouldn't expect anything else from Japanese cult cinema (and, truth be told, I'd be disappointed if I got otherwise!). The story sees a middle-aged businessman visiting a dominatrix bureau, where he signs a contract that will see him randomly beaten and abused by a succession of beautiful women over the course of a year.

The premise is as preposterous and nonsensical as it sounds, and yet it's mighty funny at the same time. Watching this poor guy walking down the street before being half kicked to death by a leather-clad lady is certainly memorable, and if the narrative seems repetitive then that's part of the intent. Still, the stakes are raised as the story progresses, leading to a half-mad climax full of cheesy action and attacks from a giant westerner. Warning: a strong stomach is needed for the lengthy spitting sequence.

A businessman, raising a young son with the help of his father in law while his wife lies in a three year long coma, takes out a one year subscription to an S&M club. His life is soon complicated by dominatrices who abuse him unexpectedly, in restaurants, on the street, at his work. Just when you think "where exactly is this going?" things take a whole new turn into weird. By the time the film "climaxes" you'll either have left the audience long ago or be sitting with a wide grin on your face enjoying the spectacle. At a time when American cinema has descended into predictability, special effects, superheroes and remakes it's great to see a genuine imagination at play. It's not for everyone but, if you enjoy creativity, humour and going along for the ride then it's one hell of a ride. Recommended.