Softcore porn aficionados will welcome the return of Japan’s Romantic Pornography series. Started in 1971, “Roman Porno” kept the movie studio Nikkatsu solvent against the encroaching influence of television with a mix of ancient Japanese tradition and nouveau Western decadence. Its most famous title, 1974’s Wife to be Sacrificed, is an S&M classic.
Roman porno filmmakers get the opportunity to employ fashion-forward eroticism with narrative ambition. The new crop from Omnibus Entertainment — originally released in Japan in 2016 and 2017 — shows its European roots, reminiscent of the works of Radley Metzger (The Lickerish Quartet) and Just Jaeckin (The Story of O, Emmanuelle).
ANTI PORNO
Directed by Sion Sono
Runtime 76 minutes
Anti Porno is the most stylishly self-conscious of the lot. Think Neon Demon or Showgirls. Kyoko, a frustrated porn actress, goes over the top and stays there: she screams, poses, and throws hissy fits, the biggest attraction being that she’s doing it wearing nothing but a thong. The film is in the spirit of a good parody, but one must be versed in Japanese pop culture to understand of what. Anti Porno takes a dramatic turn at the end, but for the most part it’s sound and fury signifying… well, you know. A kaleidoscope of sass, sadomasochism, and scatology that is an art director’s dream.
AROUSED BY GYMNOPEDIES
Directed by Isao Yukisada
Runtime 83 minutes
The protagonist of Aroused by Gymnopedies is a filmmaker for whom time and inspiration have moved on. Now an academic, he is bored by life, morose, and apparently irresistible. Nubile female students throw themselves at him — one even losing an eye — while he, in turn, throws them around. Aroused by Gymnopedies sets the standard for the mix of drama and dry thrusting that distinguishes these films.
DAWN OF THE FELINES
Directed by Kazuya Shiraishi
Runtime 85 minutes
Dedicated to “felines everywhere,” this is a straightforward look at the lives of sex workers in Kabukicho, Tokyo's Shinjuku red light district. The women maneuver the ever-changing moods of their clients as their temperaments run from barely interested to overly empathic, as in the case of one’s charity toward a lonely man who blames himself for his wife’s death. The milieu is authentic, and the proceedings varied. Dawn of the Felines is rich and sincere. It’s memorable for its sequence of Kinbaku, consensual rope bondage.
WET WOMAN OF THE WORLD
Directed by Akihiko Shiota
Runtime 78 minutes
As fanciful as its title’s alliteration, this one is a farce with folklore thrown in. A playwright in self-exile is pursued by a free-spirited vixen intent on breaking down his emotional walls. Wet Woman of the World has an appealing goofiness that recalls Russ Meyer (Beyond the Valley of the Dolls) and is distinctive for its emphasis on female pleasure over that of the male.
WHITE LILLY
Directed by Hideo Nakata
Runtime 80 minutes
White Lilly is thoughtful and intense, and the most conventionally erotic of the batch. A celebrated ceramicist takes on a young apprentice, instructing her in pot-throwing and the joys of sexual pleasure. This is the most fully realized take on a singular vision, directed by Hideo Nakata, whose innovative films Ringu and Dark Water are horror classics that have been remade in the US. He’s a master of atmosphere and erotic anticipation. This one simmers and throws off the most heat.
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All five Roman Porno films are available on VOD and digital platforms.