Makoto is a regular office goer, who just finds out that his girlfriend is probably cheating on him. ON top of it, his parents sudden death coming back from a trip that he forced them to take, he gets completely dejected and decides to commit suicide. Unknown to him, he is saved by mysterious man Yoda Ryoji, and he wakes up finding himself tied up in leather and belts in a very BDSM setting. This mysterious saver soon becomes dark and intriguing while he performs all kinds of sadistic sexual experiments on Makoto till he feels that thesis things are pleasing Makoto. This includes forced rape and toys and everything imaginable. Under Yoda's training, Makoto experiences unbearable pain and torture and slowly starts to fight back realizing that his instinct to survive is stronger than his desire to die. At this point Yoda releases Makoto and then we actually understand the back story and motivation behind both these individuals. It. Turns out that Yoda Ryoji is a doctor in emergency who lost his boyfriend to suicide who couldn't handle pressure. He had encountered Makoto on three separate occasions and decided to brings back into him the zest for life (something he couldn't do for his boyfriend). Although his means are definitely questionable, but hey, who am I to judge!
You can trust Japan to come up with bold, out-of-the-box subjects like these. The movie starts with the disturbing scenes of sexually explicit content. You have no context but you see the assailant's tendency to move from lunatic to torturer to rapist. We then get to see Makoto's back story but that still doesn't explain why Yoda is doing what he is doing. Rather than being a savior, our guy is using the solitary confinement area to strip Makoto of his clothes and dignity. Every day is a new torture and surprisingly as Makoto refuses to give in and enjoy the sexual torture the torture only grows harsher. The first hint of human emotion is seen when Yoda asks Makoto' " If you died, would you have got back what you have lost?" This comes as a surprise both to us as audience and Makoto and this is when we see the doctor's back story who would do anything to save his patients life. But after this in a moment of emption, Yoda rapes Makoto brutally and then releases him. Twists continue when you realize that Makoto now has Stockholm's Syndrome and is drawn towards his captor. They both visit the grave of their loved ones together an dit seems they end up being together. It is unclear why the doctor chose the way he did about sexually torturing Makoto to bring back his zest for life, but t did worked even if it was very uncomfortable to watch.
The film is not for any audience. It is a very mature story with some very explicit and disturbing sexual torture scenes. You may not agree with the plot but surprisingly, I do appreciate a novelty to story telling and the fact that it did not turn out to be a glorified porn film. The two actors do a wonderful and great job of portraying their character's strength's , weaknesses and guilt. It's difficult to pick one over the other. Its one of those rare films that difficult to watch but you also can't stop because of the anticipation of what may happen next. (6.5/10)
Comments
Miisu commented on "Sei no Gekiyaku (Japanese) [Dangerous Drugs of Sex]"
15 hours ago
Well, I'm probably the last person you expected to watch this piece, right - ? Eem... surprise :) I surprised myself also, by watching it in full (OK, certain parts made me look away or watch through fingers, thank you for a fair warning). It was a tough job, indeed. But somehow it had me at hello and held until the end titles were over. Like black magic.
The two protagonists played so well and understood the inner struggles of their characters almost too well. I'm almost convinced there were connections to their personal life, and I can only hope they were not considering exitus letalis themselves. The portrayal of the beginning of Stockholm syndrome meeting the survivor's guilt and the healing salvation of both was so bloody good and in sync. The scriptwriters were clearly thinking of some special people when writing it, there was nothing random in either character.
I'm probably too Nordic as an audience, always looking for the subtext or hidden messages or points in books, films, lyrics etc. For me this piece was mainly about the venomous complex of thoughts that precede the actual suicide (attempt). It is like a poison in the blood stream, even the universal antidote (chocolate) can't fight it.
Which brings me to the elephant in the room. The explicit part of the film looked entirely like medical procedures, like fighting the Devil with Beelzebub. All those machines, leather straps and even being chained to the bed felt like an extreme treatment, since the doctor didn't seem to get any personal sexual pleasure out of it, but the professional sadism was there alright. (I remember the vicious sparks in my surgeon's eyes when he took the band aid off my eye the day after my internal lens surgery, and jubilated: wow, and you've got a black eye as well! Seriously, the doctors must have some sadistic gene hanging around, they wouldn't be able to cut other people with scalpels otherwise.) I couldn't look at the actual violation scene, even the sound part was too much, but strangely I understand why it was included in the script. It felt like the doctor's last endeavor to direct the dark thoughts of Makoto away from taking his own life and towards the person who had been torturing him. A desperate act after literally trying everything else.
The last intimate scene in the beach house gave me the weirdest sensations ever. It didn't feel like they were sharing love or tending each other's wounds, but there was clarity and trust all over the screen. I couldn't tell if it was between the characters or the actors, it was so intense. And the ending was SO JAPANESE... the empty fentanyl bottle symbolizing a human who's been washed clean of any poison inside them. My grandmother was right again: salt water cures everything.
The one thing that's still bothering me is the title. I don't know if it is a literal translation from Japanese, but although there were moments of danger present, the sex was never used as a drug (as in something addictive). Purification or purge would have been more accurate, imho.
I am, for most times, just the average audience, who sees if the film was entertaining or not. :)
This film was one of the toughest pieces I've seen, but not THE toughest. That place still belongs to Ilmar Raag's "The Class" and its 7-episode sequel.