M

The protagonists in this film become entangled in their occasionally violent sexual fantasies, yet you cannot really include M among what are known as pink pictures with which Hiroki has become famous (or notorious). Pink master Hiroki is quite capable of making an ‘ordinary’ feature film, as was seen last year in Rotterdam with It’s Only Talk. So the pink colour of this psychological drama must be quite deliberate. Hiroki drew on his own experiences in porn to tell a serious and exciting psychological story about a woman with a horrific secret.
The film has several protagonists each with their own moments and scenes, but it focuses on the housewife Satoko. She looks satisfied with her calm and comfortable life. Then one day she gets to know the young man Minoru through her little son. Minoru becomes obsessed by Satoko and discovers her secret double life: she is being abused and forced to be a sadomasochistic prostitute by a member of the Yakuza. Minoru decides to save her as he once tried to save his own mother, an action which had dramatic consequences.
Satoko seems to put up with her fate, which makes her role even more intriguing. Confronted by the clumsy helplessness of her husband and the almost animal aggression of the Yakuza pimp, her restraint provides a beautiful contrast. It is the figure of Satoko who holds this consciously fragmentary film together with her enigmatic nature. (See also Bakushi by the same director.)(GjZ)