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The fifth installment of the Pete’s Perverted Pix series.
DIRECTED BY: Sion Sono
FEATURING: Ami Tomite, Mariko Tsutsui, Fujiko
PLOT: A pair of actresses enact a sadomasochistic relationship within a film but switch roles when the cameras are off.
WHY IT MIGHT MAKE THE APOCRYPHA: The manic, scene-devouring energy of the motor-mouthed lead actress is at least enough to place this deconstruction of pink films and media celebrity culture out of the ordinary, but then we slide down a hyper-surreal rabbit hole between the actresses in character and the actresses out of character, and their dreams, hallucinations, flashbacks, re-shoots of scenes, and existential reality riddles.
COMMENTS: Animal lovers beware: when our main character, Kyoko (Tomite) first opens her eyes in the morning, it’s to the sight of a large lizard kept in a glass bottle, clearly now imprisoned in there after having grown too big to crawl out, entirely dependent on outside forces to keep it alive. If you’re thinking this “bird in a gilded cage” metaphor might apply to our protagonist: ding, you are correct. Kyoko is a celebrity porn star and “artist” in Japan, kept in a brightly-colored but sparsely furnished apartment, where her existence as a performative sex object under the stress of Japanese idol culture has driven her well past barking mad. Not only does she dance and caper while hallucinating her dead sister playing the piano, she screams, throws tantrums, barfs, skips like a schoolgirl, and prances like a ballerina—mostly while stark naked. Kyoko is soon visited by her personal servant, Noriko (Tsutsui), and Kyoto shifts into alpha-bitch mode. She is cruel and humiliating to Noriko, and her abuse takes on an increasingly fetishistic nature. Kyoko humiliates Noriko, forces her to crawl and bark like a dog, forces oral sex on her, and sticks in a good belt whipping. When fashion model photographer One Hundred (Fujiko) and her posse show up, they only join in Noriko’s torment.
Just when Noriko is getting gang-raped, a director yells “Cut!” Ha, gotcha! This was just a scene these actresses were filming, and though they keep the same names, their personalities switch. Noriko is now an insufferably egotistic and unhinged diva, and Kyoko is a nervous understudy who trembles and grovels submissively. Yes, it’s one of those kinda movies. As subsequent scenes are filmed, the two lead actresses’ personalities each ramp up the sadism when it’s their turn on top, in a vicious game of humiliation tag. In between, we get treated to a snarling satire of the porn/film industry, as even the director treats Kyoko like a slave and the whole film crew pressures Kyoto to submit. I should add, all this is taking place in a few stylized sets given to bold primary colors and pop-art props, making for candy-sweet viewing.
If you think this movie is out of rug-pulls now that we have that movie-within-a-movie bit revealed, you’re mistaken. We slide back
and forth between flashbacks to Kyoko’s childhood and her dead sister’s backstory, alternating with just plain hallucinogenic passages. Say it with me, gang: “the line between reality and fiction becomes blurred,” as Kyoko, along with us, loses track of when the cameras are on or off, when she’s in character and when not, and the general narrative as she is trapped within the movie-within. This delirium is reminiscent of Laura Dern’s descent into “acting madness” in Inland Empire, though done in a radically different style. There’s even a brief bit where the entire story cuts to a live stage play with an attentive auditorium audience, which gave me a Buñuel flashback. No matter where the narrative meanders, the topic never strays far from sex; the threads all tie back to the relationship between Kyoko and Noriko. As the story wears on, we fall through so many layers of story-within-story that we end up in Kaufman-land, unsure if a single fact of Kyoto’s character is part of herself or her role. Kyoto’s mother even replaces her dominant alpha counterpart in some scenes.
How does all this watch? Fun, even funny, and it’s weird, all right. It’s also original, although parts, like when Kyoto sits at a school desk delivering a rant to the audience punctuated by her repeatedly smashing her face into a giant birthday cake, feel like feminist performance art pieces for edgy Berkeley students. It’s artistically shot through and through, well-played all around, and deliriously in love with the freak it is, even if it’s a bit pretentious. My fetish count list on second viewing: pet play, gang bang (the all-female cast packs strap-ons to a magazine photo shoot, as folks do), vomit, percussion play (leather belt or strap on bare behind), foot worship, knife play, mother-daughter role play, forced oral, cosplay, deep humiliation, and plenty of girl-on-girl action. Despite the ever-visible toilet, there’s no pee scene. Puzzling, that Chekov’s Toilet.
This film is part of Nikkatu’s Roman Porno reboot series, intended as a contemporary “pink film,” except this one just happens to take down its own genre even while being an outstanding example of it. As for portrayal of BDSM relationships… this one is out there alright. You see, this entire story could be considered an explanation of Kyoko’s sexuality and desires. But the sadomasochist play is kept in the background, while the narrative pulls back to a world-view that damns all of us, actors and audience alike, for participating in a societal act of voyeuristic depravity while heedless of the victims of their own fame. How dare we ogle these perky boobies and fan-service fetishes while condemning the very industry that brought them before our eyes. There is plenty of sadomasochism on display in Antiporno, but ultimately this angry little movie is itself the sadist, humiliating the audience for wanting to watch it.
WHAT THE CRITICS SAY:
Roman Porno Reboot Collection Vol. 1 [Blu-ray Set]
- Region A Blu-ray Set
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