A cheating man is better than no man at all. Words to live by, eh? Patriarchy never really left Japan, but the seventies must have been crazy going by this. Not one good man here. Not even Katsumata. I find his behaviour objectionable on at least a couple of occasions. But yeah, men bad. Women enabling them. I think this was the most flagrant thing about it and why I had difficulty watching this miniseries. But I had a bad cold and my Netflix profile got messed up (still is) so I didn't have that many options so I finally finished it.
It's a splendidly shot and wonderfully acted miniseries. The ladies are stunning, the costumes are gorgeous, but I found the plot very unpleasant and objectionable. I must say it has probably one of the finest opening credits I have ever seen. The anger of these women and those crazy beats just go together so well. By the way, why do they sound like Eastern-European ethno-pop?
So, gorgeous deities who smile on the outside but are scornful on the inside. That's what Asura means. And sounds just about right. These women have internalized misogyny to such an extent that they smile and put up a brave front (or think that's what they're supposed to do) while hurting inside. If you show it you lose. Take it to your death. Literally. Why? I have no idea. Must be a cultural thing. I hope at least that is antiquated in Japan now. I kept thinking with each episode if these women raise hell in front of their men they would not dare stray or treat them like that. Who would want trouble every day? But then again there's the first sister and her lover and his wife. They don't stop no matter what the poor woman tries to do. And it's almost treated like a joke at some point. So I wonder...
Of course keeping the peace and carrying on with small talk about all but what matters is an art. But not one that is of any real help if you want to keep your sanity in a marriage.
So I struggled to support these women. I liked the second sister, despite her wishy washy attitude about her straying husband. I liked the third sister, the independent bookish one, but kind of hated where she ended up with Katsumata and how she was pressured into it by everybody. I had pegged her for the independent type, but I guess she wanted to have what all women were told to want at the time. I loathed the fourth sister and her choice and tolerance of that man. He was all wrong and everybody could see it but her. Her constant attacks at her older sister are mostly unwarranted and in very bad taste too. She is just acting up, never really grew up and feels the need to put her down by attacking her femininity. Which is ironic since it's the only thing she herself possesses and most likely the only value that women had back then, so it's just another example of women putting each other down because the patriarchy told them to compete with each other for men of all things.
The sex scenes are pretty cringe and unsexy here, there's barely any kissing, sometimes they just get down to it without any kissing whatsoever, it's so odd... It made me question consent on quite a few occasions.
The way these women cling to men and wrap their whole lives around them is very concerning. I get this is based on a book written probably at that time and I have a very modern view on things but I really hope women watching this do it with a critical eye more than anything else. And while we can appreciate the craft of the actors and the writing, it really needs a modern reading above all because thankfully times have changed and men, and women need to do better.
