Like Sato's best-known and probably most widely seen pink film, THE BEDROOM aka AN ARIA ON GAZES, this movie deals with obsessions, both sexual and otherwise (but mostly sexual), only now from a gay point of view and relatively straightforward and accessible unlike the convoluted BEDROOM. The male editor and photographer of a muscle magazine (which his boss readily admits is 'a good excuse for looking at hard bodies') falls in love with a beautiful young man who performs in a fascinating experimental play. Their relationship starts off tenderly but soon turns sour when the younger man reveals sadistic tendencies his partner cannot contend with. Following a particularly grueling sex session involving involuntary bloodletting, the photographer lops off his boyfriend's arm with a samurai sword ! After a year in prison, he's still obsessing over his lost love (whose arm he's still keeping in a jar by his bed !) and tries to track him down. Considering he's a one-armed hustler, this is not as easy as you might think. The final masked ball sequence where the lovers are reunited is both incredibly shocking and bizarrely touching in a very Japanese way. You'll understand once you see the film, and indeed you should as this is a true masterpiece of warped cinema, consistently diverting audience expectations, stunningly shot in hauntingly beautiful widescreen compositions. Whether you're gay or not (though, granted, it'll work better for you if you are) the sex scenes are incredibly hot stuff, even though they're a lot less explicit than they seem at first glance. Sato's a true master of suggestion in this respect. References to the work of Pier Paolo Passolini (TEOREMA and SALO especially) could've made the film end up looking pretentious and awkward yet it's anything but. Get hold of your copy today ! This is a must-own modern classic.
