Awards and festivals

Film description

Izumi is the ideal straight out of the perfect housewife handbook - very dutiful, fulfilling all of her husband's wishes. The husband is an author of erotic novels, and if there was ever any passion in their relationship, it is long gone with the smell of shoe polish. To escape the boredom of daily chores, Izumi looks for part-time jobs. By chance, she takes part in a photographic casting where, along with a red dress and leopard-print underwear, she gains a new perspective on herself and her body. But exploring the world of sexuality can lead in unexpected directions...

Sono's dark tale uses a shocking form full of black humor and fetishist images to reveal a perverse side of the Japanese society. Balancing between the classic convention of Japanese social cinema, a noire crime story, and a disquieting neon grotesque, the director creates a paradoxical, deeply feminist tale about the dangers of fulfilling the fantasies, both yours and others'. As usual with Sono, despite the emotional story, there are plenty of intercultural references (including Franz Kafka and Gertrude Stein) and the soundtrack masterfully complements the whole. The film is also the finale of the "hate" trilogy, which includes "Love Exposed," and "Cold Fish" (presented at the 5th Five Flavours).

Jagoda Murczyńska