Theodore Larkin

Jeff Heinzl - Intro to Film

In the Realm of the Senses' Post
9/10/14
The film, In the Realm of the Senses is a very dark portrayal of an adulterated
romance that is focused purely around sex and violence. I was disturbed by the explicit
nature of the film. Never have I seen a film that contained so much male genitalia, rape
(except for clockwork orange), odd/extreme acts of sexual indulgenced, child perversion
and corruption, or such psychotic actions of sex-crazed lovers.
Sadas violent nature is explicitly seen throughout the entire film and I believe it
foreshadows the climax of the film. At the beginning of the film Sada attempts to stab
another servant of the master who calls her a whore. Then she requests to leave his
upstanding household by asking his wife for permission in the middle of her relations
with her husband. Immediately afterwards, she fantasizes about killing Kichi-sans wife.
Later in the film Sada threatens to kill the master himself if he has sex with his wife
again. This behavior is extremely irrational as she provokes and encourages him to have
sex with an older musician right in front of her. The climax of the film comes when she
strangles him to death, castrates him, uses his blood to write in Japanese on his chest, and
spoons with his limp and deranged body.
This combination of sex and violence does not strike me as a unique art form even
after reading about Oshimas attempts to claim it is art. Kichi-san and Sadas entire
relationship & love revolved around orgasms, heightening the experience until it leads
to death, and corrupting the beautiful act of making love. I feel this claim of art is a cop
out in order for him to excuse the disturbing nature of the film. In my opinion, any true
meaning or takeaway from the film gets lost in the endless violence, sex and psychotic
behavior. At the end of the day, you can call almost anything art.