Rinko(the ravishing Asuka Kurosawa)is the type of person who lends a helping hand towards others living as they're contemplating death, while she doesn't quite live herself. She works at a mental health telephone service, and we even see an example of how she assisted in stopping the suicide of a young boy. In an odd sense of fate/irony, a poor troubled soul(a mysterious photographer named Iguchi, portrayed by Shinya Tsukamoto, the director of the film)begins stalking her, photographing her little secrets that might seem embarrassing to such a proper, well-mannered professional. She's caught in a love-less, sexually-devoid marriage and often pleases herself..she believes she's doing it without others watching and she's wrong. This man begins photographing her doing things away from the civilized world that she wouldn't do in front of others, particularly her husband, co-workers, or people in general but, the photographer(..who begins calling her)captures how she really feels, on photo what she desires to do or wishes she could. Iguchi has Rinko commit acts in public she normally wouldn't do if she wishes to secure the negatives of rather defaming photos she would not like to see before other people's eyes. Meanwhile, Rinko's husband Shigehiko(Yuji Kohtari)is crippled by burdensome annoyances such as filth and smell. You always see him cleaning drains..he's indeed repelled by the slightest spot and wishes to clean everything himself without the assistance of his wife, all too willing to do it for him. Their marriage is so distant they do not communicate all that well, especially in the bedroom. They certainly signify the phrase:going through the motions. Then this distraught man enters their lives, an intruder and voyeur suffering from agonizing stomach cancer, who changes them forever.
The film actually has three "acts" focusing on each lead character. The first one is obviously most important for Rinko's life is what motivates the actions that occur throughout the film. We see who she is at the opening of the film, and who she will become thanks to Iguchi and an unfortunate medical diagnosis that alters her life. Shigehiko's story is more surreal and where director Tsukamoto takes the viewer into some strange situations. I felt that perhaps the weird occurrences that happen to Shigehiko(specifically the metallic snake that emerges from Iguchi's lap coat to wrap around Shigehiko's neck to strangle him)are illusions created within the disturbed, diseased mind of a dying Iguchi who longs for Rinko and sees who has her, enraging him. Where Shigehiko is slipped a drug thanks to Iguchi that renders him unconscious as he awakens in some room with other men watching odd pictures, regarding bizarre sexual practices, through a form of head gear with a slight circular peephole is certainly one of the film's more unusual sequences. I think, though, that despite the rather ambiguous, surreal sequences involving Shigehiko and Iguchi, the film still is about emotionally adrift people, wounded deeply, needing someone to shake them a bit so that they can see that life is merely a vapour which should be embraced wholeheartedly despite the setbacks one faces, whether they be psychological or physical. Shot in a blue tint, with camera-work that is raw and voyeuristic(non-fans of shaky-cam might find it a bit jarring). The story and characters are blanketed by rain, with Tsukamota often showing the life of water as it travels down gutters into drainages. Tsukamoto relies heavily on shots through various circular holes..windows, sink drains, sewers, etc.
The film actually has three "acts" focusing on each lead character. The first one is obviously most important for Rinko's life is what motivates the actions that occur throughout the film. We see who she is at the opening of the film, and who she will become thanks to Iguchi and an unfortunate medical diagnosis that alters her life. Shigehiko's story is more surreal and where director Tsukamoto takes the viewer into some strange situations. I felt that perhaps the weird occurrences that happen to Shigehiko(specifically the metallic snake that emerges from Iguchi's lap coat to wrap around Shigehiko's neck to strangle him)are illusions created within the disturbed, diseased mind of a dying Iguchi who longs for Rinko and sees who has her, enraging him. Where Shigehiko is slipped a drug thanks to Iguchi that renders him unconscious as he awakens in some room with other men watching odd pictures, regarding bizarre sexual practices, through a form of head gear with a slight circular peephole is certainly one of the film's more unusual sequences. I think, though, that despite the rather ambiguous, surreal sequences involving Shigehiko and Iguchi, the film still is about emotionally adrift people, wounded deeply, needing someone to shake them a bit so that they can see that life is merely a vapour which should be embraced wholeheartedly despite the setbacks one faces, whether they be psychological or physical. Shot in a blue tint, with camera-work that is raw and voyeuristic(non-fans of shaky-cam might find it a bit jarring). The story and characters are blanketed by rain, with Tsukamota often showing the life of water as it travels down gutters into drainages. Tsukamoto relies heavily on shots through various circular holes..windows, sink drains, sewers, etc.