THE
FRUITS OF PASSION
DVD region 0. Nouveaux Pictures.
This
classy French-Japanese co-production has never achieved the acclaim
it deserves, possibly because it has always been in the shadow
of it's predecessors, Ai No Corrida / In the Realm of the
Senses
and Ai No Borei / Empire Of Passion,
both directed by Nagisa Oshima. While the credentials of the director
allowed those two explicitly erotic movies to pass muster with
the critics, The Fruits of Passion was much easier to dismiss
as exploitation. That, plus the fact that it was made just as
the moral backlash of the 1980's was kicking off and the original
distribution was somewhat spotty saw the film languishing in relative
obscurity until recently.
Me, I've always been a fan since I picked up a VHS copy over a
decade ago in Amsterdam. Even though the mix of Japanese, French
and English dialogue - all subtitled in Dutch - rendered it virtually
incomprehensible, the visuals were astonishing. Thankfully, this
English language edition is easier to follow.
Based on Pauline Reage's Story of O sequel Return to the Chateau,
the film follows submissive 'O' and her master Sir Stephen (here
played with scenery-chewing excess by Klaus Kinski) as they venture
to China. As part of her contract of submission, 'O' has agreed
to work in a brothel - not just any brothel though, but a spectacular
wonderland of kinky sex and forbidden desires. The fetishistic
sex scenes are the films most arresting moments as director Shuji
Terayama explores fascinating aspects of oriental sexuality and
bondage.
Interwoven in the story are subplots involving local politics
and a planned uprising, and the love of a local peasant boy for
the melancholic 'O' (played to sad-eyed perfection by Isabelle
Illiers).
Kinski's outrageous autobiography Uncut
refers to this film as full-on hardcore, and it's quite possible
that explicit footage was shot - there's little doubt that the
actor is actually fucking during his sex scenes - but only one
brief moment of fellatio remains to tie this to the artcore porn
of Ai No Corrida. It's not a bad thing though,
as the film actually works better as an ultra-kinky BDSM tale.
As mentioned earlier, the visuals are astonishing - this is unquestionably
one of the most beautiful looking films I've seen, with moments
that leave you amazed. Combined with a steady, unhurried pace
- very much in keeping with the story - and this is a movie which
is overdue an artistic reassessment. As this edition is uncut,
there's no excuse no to snap it up.
This
classy French-Japanese co-production has never achieved the acclaim
it deserves, possibly because it has always been in the shadow
of it's predecessors, Ai No Corrida / In the Realm of the
Senses
and Ai No Borei / Empire Of Passion
,
both directed by Nagisa Oshima. While the credentials of the director
allowed those two explicitly erotic movies to pass muster with
the critics, The Fruits of Passion was much easier to dismiss
as exploitation. That, plus the fact that it was made just as
the moral backlash of the 1980's was kicking off and the original
distribution was somewhat spotty saw the film languishing in relative
obscurity until recently.
,
the film follows submissive 'O' and her master Sir Stephen (here
played with scenery-chewing excess by Klaus Kinski) as they venture
to China. As part of her contract of submission, 'O' has agreed
to work in a brothel - not just any brothel though, but a spectacular
wonderland of kinky sex and forbidden desires. The fetishistic
sex scenes are the films most arresting moments as director Shuji
Terayama explores fascinating aspects of oriental sexuality and
bondage.