Tokyo Decadence (1992) Topâzu (original title)

Director:

Ryû Murakami

Writers:

Ryû Murakami (book)
Ryû Murakami (screenplay)

Release Date:

30 April 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Erotic sex or dangerous fantasy?

Plot:

A submissive hooker goes about her trade, suffering abuse at the hands of Japanese salarymen and Yakuza types...

Plot Keywords:

Hooker | Yakuza | Tokyo Japan | Pretending To Be Dead | High Class Prostitute

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Miho Nikaido	...	Ai
Sayoko Amano
Tenmei Kano
Kan Mikami
Masahiko Shimada	...	Mr. Ishioka (Mr. Satoh)
Yayoi Kusama
Chie Sema

Directed by
Ryû Murakami

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ryû Murakami		book
Ryû Murakami		screenplay

Produced by
Chosei Funahara	....	producer
Tadanobu Hirao	....	producer: JVD/Jei Bui Dii
Yousuke Nagata	....	producer
Akiuh Suzuki	....	producer
Hank Blumenthal	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Ryûichi Sakamoto

Cinematography by
Tadashi Aoki

Film Editing by
Kazuki Katashima

Other crew
Peter Fernandez	....	voice director: English version
Michael Charles Hill	....	distribution and marketing coordinator
Tom Hughes	....	translator
Masahiro Yoshikawa	....	translator

Production Companies

• Cinemabrain
• Japan Video Distribution (JVD) Co. Ltd.
• Melsat Inc.
• Ryu Murakami Office

Distributors

• Northern Arts Entertainment (1993) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Kinowelt Filmverleih (1993) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Films sans Frontières (1999) (France) (theatrical)
• ICA Projects (2001) (UK) (theatrical)
• SBP (2003) (Argentina) (video)
• Firebox (2007) (Finland) (DVD)
• América Vídeo (2003) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Another World Entertainment (2007) (Denmark) (DVD)
• Cinema Epoch (2008) (USA) (all media)
• Transmission Films Ltd. (2002) (worldwide) (internet)
• Triboro Entertainment (1993) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production

Also Known As:

"Topâzu" - Japan (original title)
"Sex Dreams of Topaz" - Hong Kong (English title) (X-rated version)

MPAA:

Rated NC-17 for strong, explicit, sado-masochistic sexuality

Runtime:

135 min | USA:112 min | Italy:92 min (heavily cut) | Germany:85 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:18 | Australia:(Banned) | Canada:R | France:-16 (with warning) | UK:18 | USA:NC-17 | Italy:VM18 | South Korea:18 (re-rating) (cut) | South Korea:Limited (original rating) | Finland:K-18 (self applied) (2007) | Germany:18

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Cinemabrain

Quotes:

Mr. Ishioka:Bend down, your face means nothing to me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 100 Years of Japanese Cinema (1995) (TV)

powerful start meanders to bland finish

Murakakmi's Tokyo Decadence starts out powerfully with an unflinching look at the shifts put in as a 'Delivery Health' (as these women get called in 21s century Japan) by hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold, Miho Nikaido. The crisp colours, seductive light and slowly dollying camera give a high productive sheen to the mesmerising scenes of Nikaido being humiliated by a Yakuza couple, then assisting a dominatrix in the wished-for degradation of one of her regular johns.

Murakami seems to be highlighting the amorality of Bubble-rich Japan, his characters speechifying against the 'real' whores in the corporate and government fields. The sexual and comedy elements are well-balanced, the highlight being the lost dildo in the toilet scene. Nikaido shows an impressive range, both vulnerable in and enraptured by her line of work. She also enlivens a long walk with a wild-eyed look she achieves in the film's final third.

However, her performance cannot rescue the meandering, insipid final episode when Nikaido goes in search of her true love. The introduction of a 'courage' pill is a clumsy plot device. The final section lacks clarity, and even continuity seems to be a minor concern. It is as if Murakami, having established his world so finely in the first half, is now at a loss regarding what he wants to say about it. A series of episodic and uninspiring tableaux plays out, the slightly surreal elements being the only thing that stops it from descending into an old-fashioned morality tale.

Tokyo Decadence is a film of two halves, with the director only trying in the first.