In the Realm of the Senses

Transgressive arthouse drama that explores the intersection of sexuality, obsession, and self-destruction. The film desensitizes its audience with continuous explicit material before reaching a climax that still has the power to shock witnesses fifty years later. Fascinating for its psycho-sexual implications -- the character's sexual drives are used to suppress their sense of self before being redirected toward personal obliteration. Its influence can be felt in films such as Lars von Trier's "Antichrist" and "Nymphomaniac."

Nagisa Ōshima’s In the Realm of the Senses is a daring, visceral exploration of sexual obsession, pushing the boundaries of both cinema and societal norms. The film is radical in every sense, not just for its unsimulated sex, but for the intense portrayal of two lovers consumed by an all-encompassing, destructive passion. Set against the backdrop of pre-war Japan, this unflinching narrative is more than just erotica—it’s a searing critique of traditional values and an examination of the blurred lines between desire, control, and power. The film’s radical nature is heightened by its visual beauty. The rich, stylised cinematography and exquisite production design immerse the viewer in a closed world where sensuality is both liberating and suffocating. Ōshima’s deliberate framing and use of bold colours elevate the story from its explicit content to an almost surreal meditation on human limits. The detached, voyeuristic camera adds an uncomfortable intensity, making viewers feel as if they’re intruding on an intimate and dangerous liaison. For those open to confronting taboo subjects, the film is a powerful experience that remains shocking and provocative even decades after its release. Its combination of raw sexuality and aesthetic brilliance makes it a standout in cinematic history, cementing its status as both a visual masterpiece and a radical work of art

Catastrophic A movie categorised as sexually explicit is literally a way to long porn movie with no deeper meaning or message. Way to long, way too disturbing, pervert… Please pay to watch another movie

10% rating ... I couldn't get into the storyline of this film. Weird and at times, a little uncomfortable.

If anybody tries to convince you that Nagisa Oshima's In the Realm of the Senses has some sort of political message or social commentary, don't fall for it. It's simply soft-core porn, periodically slipping into something more hard-core. And that's fine because it features some beautiful cinematography, a stunning color palette, and surprisingly decent performances. To its detriment, it has some cringe-worthy dialogue (‘they say true love means eating food dipped in your lover's juices'), some stomach-churning visuals (a woman clips off her lover's pubic hair and eats it), so much gratuitous sex that it actually gets a bit boring, and a final scene that will make you want to vomit. It's lovely to look at but doesn't feel like it has much to say.

Sada Abe (Eiko Matsuda) is a former prostitute who now works as a maid in a hotel, where she falls for the owner, Kichizo Ishida (Tatsuya Fuji), an affair that starts simply with non-stop sex and continues to become an obsession, as she doesn't want to share him even with his wife. Soon, their love games include strangling one another during sex and her holding a knife to his manhood, saying that she's going to take it with her. Well, that's exactly what happens, as she accidentally kills him while they make love and takes his member with her, walking with it inside her before she's arrested. Directed and written by Nagisa Oshima, who also made Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, this is a rare mainstream film that doesn't shy from unsimulated sex, made in a culture that even hides the mere glance at female genitals. It was made in France, while in Japan, it was fogged and blurred so that it could appear in theaters. Eiko Matsuda had worked in sexploitation films but was never treated as harshly by the public as she was when this film was made, finally moving to France and ending her acting career. Society remains unfair, as her male partner in the movie, Tatsuya Fuji, regained his career after two years. This was based on a true story and Sada Abe did not fade from the world after serving five years of her six-year sentence even though she asked for the death penalty. The police record of her interrogation and confession became a best-selling book. Over the next few years, the public perception of her moved from a pervert to someone who murdered for love. She acted in a traveling show and worked in a bar in downtown Tokyo for twenty years before appearing in Teruo Ishii's documentary History of Bizarre Crimes by Women in the Meiji, Taisho, and Showa Eras. When Oshima tried to find her before making this movie, he learned that she was in a nunnery, yet most reports claim that she disappeared.

"I meant to buy a thicker blade ... there were people watching." Sada, you haven't exactly been all that worried about people watching for the past hour. There are two different sides to consider when watching In the Realm of the Senses: 1) the crafting of an obsessive romance shown through increasing sexual intimacy and voyeurism, not just as a means of connecting with one another but of creating a sanctuary from the outside world (which is only shown in one or two critical shots, indicating the rise of Japanese nationalism), and 2) this movie is almost entirely explicit sex scenes. We're left to contrast this tortured, sexually aggressive relationship, which dives deeply into the concept of possessiveness, passion, and jealousy, against actual content that becomes surprisingly repetitive despite the shock value of unsimulated sex scenes. It just becomes one fuck after another where this couple wants others to watch them, they choke one another, and make baseless accusations about infidelity and toss around threats about what they'll do if their relationship were to end; there is so little character development for the middle 80% of this film that it actually makes you wonder if you're not just watching a strange, artsy porno flick. Ōshima has a clear vision here and actually levels solid criticism of the social cues of conservative Japan in the 1930s (hence the need for our protagonists' escape), but his originality often comes in a form that is just unenjoyable. (3/5)

Just go to end if want see Little Blobbo cut off.

I confess that when I heard about the film "In the Realm of the Senses" by Nagisa Oshima (1976) I was still a young man of 15 years old and therefore I still haven't been able to watch this film that had been initially censored by over 18 years old. I remember that it was on display in my city for almost 7 consecutive years and the audience was usually only men. Much time has passed and I confess that I was never very curious, as a young man, to watch this type of film. Thanks to the Criterion Collection that put this title a few years ago on Blu-ray was when I happily started to understand all the controversy caused at the time by this film. As a result, I felt more intelligently prepared for this diversion from deflecting my mind from permissive thoughts that perhaps could divert my attention from history. That was very difficult. After all, I am human and the mind fed by the sensual images of the beginning of history perversely reached me ... but that's ok, I thought: "This is part of this experience". At first it was pure excitement in every way you can imagine, especially with 45 minutes of film. Later, I'm already paying attention and this strange story that I can't even get distracted by other things. The film begins to show its power after an hour and fifteen minutes I already feel mesmerized by the story and that excitement of the first scenes no longer exists when I realize that, in my mind, all that passion of the main characters of the film absorbs me from an uncomfortably and disturbingly sexual. However in the end I would feel completely shaken and sex doesn't even cross my mind anymore. The story is based on real events that took place in 1936 in Japan in which a "geisha" Sada Abe and her lover Kichizo Ishida who had a sexual relationship across extreme limits. Director Nagisa Oshima, who knew the story well, was well known to all Japanese people - he was looking for funding for the project and got through the contacts in France the interest of the producer Anatole Dauman who was familiar with Oshima's films and gave the go-ahead for the production. In absolute secrecy and fearing his own arrest in Japan for directing a pornographic film since he decided that his actors would rather have real sexual relations in front of the cameras, the director chose to shoot in Kyoto and thus circumvent possible problems with the severe censorship in Japan. Japan. To this day, the Japanese have not seen the uncensored version of this film. The magic and power of the film is really not the work of Eiko Matsuda (Sada Abe) and Tatsuya Fuji (Kichi). Why? If the two actors did not have chemistry for each other the film would only become another pornographic film and nothing more. What differs from this film is the dedication of the director and the actors who have committed themselves to the story, thus making everything work and the film becoming "Art". At the end of my experience watching this film I felt soberly intoxicated by images that were both sensual and deeply disturbing. Perhaps this film is the only one that in detail shows the process of sexual evolution and the search for a form of supreme pleasure that favors human understanding and goes hand in hand with madness. This film is certainly not for the faint of heart to watch until the end. But if you open your mind to a certain level, I believe this film will win you over for the strangest reasons that only you will be able to know and recognize. I do not believe that Oshima wanted to become in any way a pioneer in the more elaborate treatment from the visual point of view in order to promote himself at a higher level as a director. I think he simply knew that he would be able to tell such a provocative and controversial story in a simple, honest and effective way. As he also knew that he would find a critical and eclectic audience that would bore him in choosing his method of filming. He achieved two things to make this film a reality and makes it almost unique in Japanese and perhaps worldwide cinema history. Other directors have tried this and few have succeeded because they have fallen into the traps of basic pornography. Oshima came out more respected and better director with this experience. This is no small feat. DN

Much to my surprise this is a true story. I think the film would have been much better if it had spent more time exploring the characters than on the explicit sex scenes.