Tokyo X Erotica (2001)

Directed by: Zeze Takahisa | 75 minutes | drama, eroticism, romance | Actors: Yuji Ishikawa, Takeshi Ito, Mayuko Sasaki, Yumeko Sasaki

Director Zeze Takahisa is a filmmaker who regularly delivers intriguing works within the sex-determined “pinkku eiga” genre. His characters are often complex and often find themselves in a deterministic negative spiral in which death and sex play a role. The sex in his films can usually not be called erotic because it seems primarily intended to alleviate the suffering of the characters and to divert attention from the psychic. But even from these physical actions the characters usually fail to find comfort or pleasure. In short, the sex, although mandatory within the genre, in his films has a clear function within the story. In ‘Tokyo X Erotica’, however, it all seems a lot more random. Furthermore, the familiar theme of Takahasi can be found again, but his focus on the characters is a lot more hazy.

‘Tokyo X Erotica’ differs in several respects from Takahasi’s “pink” films – although this qualification does these films short – ‘Raigyo’ and ‘Dirty Maria’. Aside from the more gratuitous sex scenes (and their more prominent presence), the film’s style is a lot more eclectic. No unambiguous attention for one or two characters, but a story that apparently scatters situations and people over the viewer like a patchwork quilt. Also, the director now uses his style of silences and omissions a lot less to communicate the mental turmoil of his characters and create dramatic tension. No, ‘Tokyo X Erotica’ is a busy movie full of characters having all kinds of kinky sex, cheating, and committing acts of violence. Quasi-documentary material is also included, where random Japanese people on the street are asked for their opinion on things like Love, Time and Death.

Takahasi arrives at interesting propositions through these interviews and the sporadic voice-over, but these are unfortunately unsatisfactorily embedded in a larger, valuable whole and it is unclear what exactly he wants to say or what he regrets or advises in life (or death). At the beginning of the film, he asks the people on the street what is longer: the time before your birth or the time after you die. He gets several interesting answers, which could certainly have made for a nice film with the right elaboration. One boy doesn’t even want to think about death: “Life is more important, isn’t it?” A girl says there’s just no time after death. Yet another boy says it will be the time for the birth, because the end of the world is near.

He gives a tentative answer from Takahasi after this first series of questions. Time just moves on because everyone who remains lives on. But everyone who dies, too, seems to be clear in the film. Lovers Kenji and Haruka both die at the beginning of the film, but then reappear in the second half to continue their relationship, which mainly comes down to sex. And they’re not the only ones having sex. Many “couples” have sex with each other in different ways. Which, it must be said, does produce some nice scenes. Scenes with bondage, a hooker visiting a man in a pink bunny suit, and, the most fun, a moment where the woman empties the man’s newly used condom into her water pistol and then shoots him in the face with it. Surprise! Then he feels that too. As if that wasn’t enough, she puts the barrel on her vagina and pulls the trigger saying, “I want your cum in me.” And if he wants to be so kind after this, to lick his “dirty sperm” out. It will be your girlfriend. However interesting or entertaining these scenes sometimes are, they are a bit like loose sand. While Takahisa probably wants to say something about the state of society, given his comment that the stories shown are just a few examples of the many relationships and situations that take place in Tokyo, the film is a bit of a mess with interesting thematics present. but does not want to come to the surface in a focused way. And unfortunately the sex scenes now come across, literally and figuratively, as obligatory numbers. The restrictions of the pink genre become too visible in ‘Toky X Erotica’. Too bad, because everything is bubbling under the surface.