TOKYO DECADENCE
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1993 James Berardinelli
Rating (Linear 0 to 10): 4.8
Date Released: varies
Running Length: 1:52
Rated: NC-17 (Explicit sex, nudity, drug use, violence, language,
mature themes)
Starring: Miho Nikaido, Tenmei Kano, Sayoko Amano Director: Ryu Murakami Producers: Yoshitaka Suzuki, Tadanobu Hirao, and Yosuke Nagata Screenplay: Ryu Murakami Music: Ryuichi Sakamoto Released by Northern Arts Entertainment Japanese with English Subtitles
Ai (Miho Nikaido) is a Japanese callgirl specializing in domination and bondage. When we first meet her, she's nearly naked and spreadeagled with restraints holding down her arms and legs. Meanwhile, her client, after whispering to her that she should trust him, blindfolds and gags her before forcibly injecting her with heroin. Welcome to the world of TOKYO DECADENCE, where prostitution is a dangerous and ugly profession, not the thing of romance it has been portrayed as in Hollywood's sanitized PRETTY WOMAN.
Ai doesn't have the personality to be a prostitute. Not only is she shy, but she's a romantic. In fact, she once fell in love with a client who treated her gently--something someone in her position isn't used to. Unlike Richard Gere, however, this man was interested in her for one night only. After that, he didn't care what happened to her.
Ai is looking for happiness, and finding it hard to come by. She consults a fortune teller who informs her that to get her wish she has to do three things: put a telephone book under her television set, stay away from museums in the eastern part of the city, and wear a ring with a pink stone on her middle finger. Ai is so desperate that she follows these instructions to the letter. Of course, they don't help. For someone mired in her situation, there don't seem to be any solutions.
TOKYO DECADENCE is a gut-wrenching and horrifying look at the world of prostitution. Equally, it's a condemnation of the seedy, secret side of Japanese society that is kept hidden from the outside world. The problems illustrated in the movie are not unique to that country, however. Decadence is a human condition, and where men and women are, there too will be the ugliness shown in this picture.
Those who feel that RISING SUN is guilty of Japan-bashing may be very disturbed by the impressions presented by TOKYO DECADENCE. Perhaps because it's made by Japanese film makers primarily for a Japanese-speaking audience, the producers felt no need to pull punches. Writer/director Ryu Murakami's theme can be summarized in one sentence from the movie: "It's Japan that's wealthy, but it's wealth without pride." Psychologists have always talked of how powerful men have a need to be dominated--Murakami has applied this to the collective psyche of an entire country.
The sex in this film, while abundant and explicit, is definitely not erotic. Viewers are more likely to be sickened than titillated. Murakami didn't make this film to tickle people's libidos; he wanted to bring out the potential ugliness that can come through sex. In that, he has succeeded abundantly. TOKYO DECADENCE is graphic but not gratuitous, and I can't go into details about some of the humiliation that Ai is put through without proof that the reader of this review is over eighteen.
TOKYO DECADENCE is so bleak that without the inclusion of a brief scene designed primarily for comic relief, this would have been as close to unbearable a movie as I have ever seen. As is often true of cautionary tales, the stuff of TOKYO DECADENCE is too strong for mere entertainment.
That having been said, there is still a story with characters. Of all the people we meet, only Ai attains depth, but she is brilliantly fleshed-out by the script and portrayed by actress Miho Nikaido, who has to put a lot of herself on the line to appear in some of TOKYO DECADENCE's scenes. Few performers are willing to expose themselves to this much humiliation and degradation--even if it is only on film--to bring a character to life.
For most of the movie, the plot is reasonable, if not overly-involving. Until the end, that is, when it all comes crashing down. Often, movies conclude with let-downs, but in the case of TOKYO DECADENCE, there's a complete collapse. The last twenty minutes are so poorly put together that they're virtually not worth sitting through. The drawn-out finale is tedious, and seriously damaged my overall impression of the movie. Five minutes would have been more than enough time to bang home Murakami's final point.
Production-wise, the picture is a mixed bag. The musical score is poor, sounding like a badly-synthesized composition lifted directly from some cheap 1970s American flick. The cinematography is equally of dubious quality. In attempting to highlight the dispiriting nature of the film, many of the scenes were shot in conditions of low lighting. Unfortunately, sometimes things are so dark that it's difficult to figure out what's going on.
TOKYO DECADENCE is a movie that will appeal only to a select few. Strong stomachs and a willingness to see almost anything are requisite. The movie is rated NC-17 for a reason. Those who take a chance on this film may be disappointed by some of what it has to offer, but the overall experience won't soon be forgotten.
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
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