Director- Sato Hisayasu.This is the third film I have seen of his, and until now, I have found his filmmaking style, surreal. The title and the name of the film are completely misleading. It doesn't involve any office lady. It is much better than what I had expected after being misled.The film, like turtle vision is shot in a way that makes it a bit tougher to follow making one pay more attention. It also appears rougher due to the different prints that Sato uses. The use of the 35mm, video and Super 8 makes the film appealing stylistically.The film this time revolves around a group of school or college kids who are dealing with the overbearing nature of life while also battling unfulfillment.The protagonist's story reminded me of the story of Abe Sada, on whom Oshima Nagisa made the film In the Realm of Senses. While it revolved more around the protagonist acquiring the stick of power to wield as she pleases, this time around, the protagonist tackles it in a similar, albeit different manner.Like the story of Abe Sada, this too is based on a true story, though I couldn't find any information on the real case. We do get a few shots of archival footage of the real case.She is using intercourse as a way to momentarily escape her dire situation of living such an unfulfilling and meaningless life due to broken promises that led to a dead-end relationship.The film uses the motif of the camera quite well with the protagonist recording her acquiring pleasure to rewatch them to gain fulfilment. This pushes her more towards the dark side as she yearns to forever stay in that state of fulfilment.When they were in film school, her boyfriend promised that he would record her every day, but he didn't do so, which led to the protagonist's frustration. The frustration piled up till she resorted to extreme means to become free of it.Sato utilises duality in some scenes, such as the scenes in the van were coupled with photos of idols, which offered a sharp contrast that elevated the scenes.The film makes us view the whole ordeal as an outsider forced to witness it in all its glory with its desires, heartbreak, desperation, confusion, etc. The dark atmosphere of this film is another staple I have seen of Sato, but this time around, the themes are not as dense. The atmosphere, too, is not due to the bleakness of our reality but instead because of the psyche of the protagonist.Over all this is another good film of Sato, though I didn't like it as much as the other two. Sato truly was ahead of his time.
Director- Sato Hisayasu.This is the third film I have seen of his, and until now, I have found his filmmaking style, surreal. The title and the name of the film are completely misleading. It doesn't involve any office lady. It is much better than what I had expected after being misled.The film, like turtle vision is shot in a way that makes it a bit tougher to follow making one pay more attention. It also appears rougher due to the different prints that Sato uses. The use of the 35mm, video and Super 8 makes the film appealing stylistically.The film this time revolves around a group of school or college kids who are dealing with the overbearing nature of life while also battling unfulfillment.The protagonist's story reminded me of the story of Abe Sada, on whom Oshima Nagisa made the film In the Realm of Senses. While it revolved more around the protagonist acquiring the stick of power to wield as she pleases, this time around, the protagonist tackles it in a similar, albeit different manner.Like the story of Abe Sada, this too is based on a true story, though I couldn't find any information on the real case. We do get a few shots of archival footage of the real case.She is using intercourse as a way to momentarily escape her dire situation of living such an unfulfilling and meaningless life due to broken promises that led to a dead-end relationship.The film uses the motif of the camera quite well with the protagonist recording her acquiring pleasure to rewatch them to gain fulfilment. This pushes her more towards the dark side as she yearns to forever stay in that state of fulfilment.When they were in film school, her boyfriend promised that he would record her every day, but he didn't do so, which led to the protagonist's frustration. The frustration piled up till she resorted to extreme means to become free of it.Sato utilises duality in some scenes, such as the scenes in the van were coupled with photos of idols, which offered a sharp contrast that elevated the scenes.The film makes us view the whole ordeal as an outsider forced to witness it in all its glory with its desires, heartbreak, desperation, confusion, etc. The dark atmosphere of this film is another staple I have seen of Sato, but this time around, the themes are not as dense. The atmosphere, too, is not due to the bleakness of our reality but instead because of the psyche of the protagonist.Over all this is another good film of Sato, though I didn't like it as much as the other two. Sato truly was ahead of his time.
