In the Realm of the Senses

In the Realm of the Senses

1976 "Never before had a man and a woman loved each other so intensely"
In the Realm of the Senses
In the Realm of the Senses

In the Realm of the Senses

6.6 | 1h45m | NR | en | Drama

A passionate telling of the story of Sada Abe, a woman whose affair with her master led to an obsessive and ultimately destructive sexual relationship.

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6.6 | 1h45m | NR | en | Drama , Romance | More Info
Released: April. 01,1977 | Released Producted By: Argos Films , Oshima Productions Country: Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:
Synopsis

A passionate telling of the story of Sada Abe, a woman whose affair with her master led to an obsessive and ultimately destructive sexual relationship.

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Cast

Tatsuya Fuji , Eiko Matsuda , Aoi Nakajima

Director

Shigenori Shimoishizaka

Producted By

Argos Films , Oshima Productions

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Reviews

Smoreni Zmaj Japanese erotic drama, which, balancing on the very edge of pornography, tells a fascinating story about love, passion, and obsession that leads to inevitable death.8/10
Chri7 In the film IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES by Oshima Nagisa, we can not catch a trace of similarity to those cliché love stories where Romeo and Juliet show their affections implicitly and finally get together, pushing aside all obstacles and difficulties. Instead, there is extraordinarily explicit, intense, and stimulating lust between the two characters, who "do virtually nothing but pursue their sexual desires"(Peter Lehman). The carnal sexuality, as the main theme of the film, implies two sides of a coin: ideally returning to Eden where one can obey the instinctive desires and lightheartedly indulge in sexual pleasure, as well as suffering from Coitum Animal Triste – great void and solitude after extreme pleasure of orgasms. As Sada irresistibly drown in lust, deeper and deeper, she at last heads towards destruction with her lover.In the realm of sensory pleasure, Kichi, as a masculine and patricentric symbol, is put in a weak position throughout; hence Sada's aggressive and possessive passion for sex becomes the symbol of awakened female self-consciousness. It reminds me of another film, Joi Niku Dorei (1986) by Katsuhiko Fuji. In this Japanese pink film, Kumi, a beautiful doctor, married her colleague Kitame. A misleading sex tape in which the heroine looks exactly like Kumi soon ruins their idyllic marriage, sent anonymously. Kitame thinks Kumi betrayed him, and thence has sex with the misconceived wife with brutalities and humiliations ever after. In the end of the film, with all misunderstandings resolved, Kumi turns down Kitame's begging for forgiveness. In a hotel room, she masturbates to orgasm in front of a DV she bought for herself, then wanders around Tokyo streets aimlessly. The film ends with a reflection of Kumi's pretty but slightly flurried face on a showcase filled with televisions in an electronics store. Trauma and lust changes Kumi, a conventionally gentle and virtuous wife, into an independent woman who discerns and pursues her instinctive desire. In other words, the sex-tape incident awakes Kumi.In the context of women's sexual pleasure relying on pleasing men, Kumi and Sada resist male supremacy through sexuality. The difference is Sada opens to her desire at the very beginning, with the will and determination towards self-destruction.La petite mort, meaning "the little death", is a French euphemism for orgasm. Ecstasy during transient orgasm does have resemblances with death: they are both extreme experience. In the end of the film, Sada strangles Kichi to death and cut off his genital. She regards it as the only way towards eternal sexuality, and in this way she and Kichi can be together forever. Death, self-destruction, and lust, seems to be Sada's final redemption.Explicit sex scenes in the film are astonishing. In his book, Running Scared: Masculinity and the Representation of the Male Body, Peter Lehman argues the difference between erotic traditions of ancient East and modern West. Lehman enumerates several features in western hard-core pornography: invariably erect penises, men ejaculating on women's faces, and moaning and groaning of women in ecstasy; either symbolizes man power or centrality of male sexuality. In this case, "women's pleasure becomes fetishized, not valued". Contrarily in In the Realm of Senses, Sada's sexual satisfaction is the only thing that Kichi values, as he says "No. But if it pleases you, yes," when Sada asks if he really wants she to strangle him. There are many shots of Kichi's flaccid average-size penis, and Sada always moans as an expression of her own pleasure.In the Realm of Senses is a significant masterpiece, on account of both its extremely sensual, erotic, and romantic story and its distinction comparing with western hard-core pornography – it stands for women's desires.
james stark (jamestark) Before I tell you how awesome this particular film is, let's get one thing out of the way: This is not for the weak of heart and especially not for kids.The movie is quite spectacular, from the lighting to the background, the perfect soundtrack and great Japanese music. the story follows Sada Abe and her relationship with her master who she has fallen in love with.Soon, they get married and begin exploring their sensuality. Now, at first sight, this might look like a porno but it is NOT. The movie passes on a subtle message from all the scenes outside the bedroom. The message is political and heart-wrenching and tragic and you'll know it when you see this masterpiece.Unlike most movies, The Realm of the Senses uses its sex scenes, which appear about every 2 minutes, to develop the characters and their relationship.The director has created this masterpiece that people shy away from even these days because they heard that it is obscene and, yes, it is. The movie shows things like they were and what happens to Sada Abe (she was real).Go, watch the movie right now and watch the us uncensored version for the best experience.Examples of a few gross scenes: Sada and Kichizo as sitting eating food and Sada says (and I'm quoting here) "They say that true love means eating food dipped in your lover's juices." You can probably imagine what happens next.But if you can look past the sex, underneath lies an amazing movie with an amazing message.
ebrahim-mehri 1- Drama and porn are two completely distinct genres of cinema that should not be combined. If you want to show love-making, you have to simulate it and not to dive into details, because it diverts audience's attention and corrupts the logical conjunction of scenes. 2- The romantic(?) relationship shown in this film, as the characters confess, is an "obsession", not a true love. This kind of passion was disgusting to me. Love is supposed to adorn our lives. Acts like oral sex or inserting a dildo or an egg(!) into a vagina are not arisen from a healthy mind. They are just sadistic and non-appropriate for drama. 3- The scene depicting nude children was questionable. What was director's purpose? It just slowed down the progress of plot, because it had no relation to the story. Also, there is a general rule: Do not use children in erotic scenes. It's meaningless. 4- The rain scene was childish. Why would someone be afraid of an umbrella and think it is a ghost?! Is this funny? Does it help the audience to strengthen their emotional relationships with the characters? I don't think so. 5- The ending is ambiguous. What happens to Saba after being arrested for murdering her lover? The narrator should have been explained it.