It’s the brutal summer in Kamagasaki, where Tsutenkaku Tower, which overlooks the Osaka region, finds itself. Tome, who is just 19 and self-reliant, has an altercation with an elder woman who runs a small lodge where she used to offer sex services. Having to survive as a solitary prostitute can still be challenging, especially for Tome who has a sex worker mother. A mother who can’t seem to get over her jealousy. A brother, Saneo, who is sex-deprived and sexually reliant on Tome but she isn’t exactly negative about it. Tome is ready to have sex with whoever is willing to pay her. Whether it’s bars, restaurants, or even the subway, she doesn’t care.
She also doesn’t care to advertise for her services. Although thanks to her unusual stance on self sexual freedom, she has been subjected to an unusual amount of violence. Be it her mother who lashes out at her for having sex with her boyfriend or a pimp who threatens her about changing workplaces. Besides all of this she also has to deal with a man who she has hired who has a strange fetish for her. Tome tries fending off the violence, but at the same time embraces it so she can explore new clients.
Things turn in a different direction when Fumie, a new girl, is introduced and that’s when the aforementioned pimp leaves Tome alone.
Fumie, a high school dropout, joins the adult industry to assist her boyfriend in paying off debts. Nonetheless, she starts dating another man, which causes her funds to be depleted. Due to this reason, she dives deeper into the adult industry and gets controlled by a nasty Pimp. However, her boyfriend decides to return with a sex doll in hand.
Noboru Tanaka has crafted a cinematic experience, that does indeed feel like a documentary, instead, The Last House On The Left feels the exact opposite. There is an anarcho-political message being communicated through the film, and this is where it seems to take inspiration from 1960s European cinema. While keeping the Japanese society in mind, this film heavily criticizes it. From degrading women’s involvement in the porn industry, to revolting against societal norms, all indirectly serve to enhance the message of the film.
Poligamist Tome does incorporate a survival requirement that is having sex with men, however, she also has an indisputable urge to stay unique and self sufficient that is so strong that even her own bitter mother and men over power her.
This reminds me of someone I use to know, who had a very strong anarchist ethos that’s highly entrancing to see, and Takana further amplifies that sentiment by introducing Fumie, who refuses to change. It’s all too normal for us to sacrifice one thing for another, which is where Fumie has it easy, as there’s no way she changes. That said, her complete indifference graphically highlights our evolving relationships with everything in a non blood curdling or gut wrenching way.
The South Korean movie beautifully transitions between riveting and painful situations like a sexist doll taking its own life, a daughter in law and mother in law fighting over the same lovers, a wanted man and interesting interactions with as well as search for new pimps. Apart from the overall theme, the movie does contain highly entertaining and dramatic individual episodes. Giving all of that, Shinya Inoue’s editing has to be the strongest suit of the movie, his cuts have a high precision and result in Pedromigue’s fast paced style being perfectly complemented.
Shohei Ando, And Tanaka participated in most of the filming and Ando didn’t go cheap on the sex scenes, Tanner didn’t undress her mother, comically enough, Andre and Tanaka were filming a sex scene in which she whipped Ando, glue was applied to the mother’s backend, all the close-ups were well shot -they were good with sound capturing and sometimes even ruthless. They demonstrated high focus and sometimes took the sense of sexuality to the fore, and over the stories sensuality was kept odd.
Meika Seri has to be given a lot of credit for being able to maintain a sexy demeanor regardless of the situation she finds herself in, and for enjoying herself to the extent where she seems to have the upper hand on all the other girls, and even during a simple walk on the street. Miyashitas performance as Fumie is quite striking too, where her contrast to severi’s character in looks and attitude, proved to be fruitful for the movie. Tome’s mother who goes by the name of Genshu Hanayagi is violent and bitter in the movie, but even so she does a great job in embodying what the daughter would have been like if she wasn’t Set to be one of the greatest.
Tanaka has a reputation for being with the comedic interludes in his movies, while also incorporating sex scenes which I never would have even imagined and did not think to expect. As seen in the entire arc featuring human doll, chicken sequence and the cigarette scene.
Pinku film has always been tied along with pink , and the oldest profession truly deserve the title as it does justice and begs the question as to flowing of Japanese pinku that we were able to view back in the time.
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