Hana to hebi (2004)

Director:

Takashi Ishii

Writers:

Oniroku Dan (novel)
Takashi Ishii (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 March 2004 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Plot Keywords:

Needle | Disturbing | Masochism | Stun Gun | Dance

Cast

Aya Sugimoto	...	Shizuko Tôyama
Renji Ishibashi	...	Ippei Tashiro
Ken'ichi Endô	...	Kanzô Morita
Misaki Mori	...	Kyôko Nojima (as Misaki)
Yôzaburô Itô	...	Clown man
Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi	...	Ryô Eguchi
Shun Nakayama	...	Kazuo Kawada
Shigeo Kobayashi	...	Yoshizawa
Naoki Matsuda	...	Murata
Tomoo Yageta	...	Tsuchiya
Taeko Uzuki	...	Crucified woman / sacrificial woman
Miyako Kawahara	...	Chiyo
Blake Crawford
Mr. Buddhaman	...	Kudô (as Misutâ Buttaman)
Tomezô Tsunokake	...	Kashiwagi

Also Known As:

Flower and Snake (International: English title) (DVD title)

Runtime:

USA:115 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Japan:R-18 | Germany:18 (JK/SPIO) (cut) | Canada:18+ (Québec)

Company:

Femme Fatale

Trivia:

The film is based on an S&M novel written by Oniruku Dan which has reached a cult status in Japan. There have been several prior adaptations of the novel but none before with well known actors and top of the line production and photography.

Movie Connections:

Version of Hana to hebi (1974)

A Soft-Core Rope-Bondage Lover's Wet-Dream...

Takashi (ANGEL GUTS series, EVIL DEAD TRAP) Ishii has succeeded in making an extremely sexy and interesting film. Apparently an adaptation of some Japanese S&M novel (I don't have time to read anymore - too much sleaze to watch...) which has been made into film several times - FLOWER AND SNAKE has more sexy rope-bondage and humiliation action than you can shake your dong at...and get this...even has a pretty decent storyline.

Shizuko is a famous Japanese tango dancer whose husband sells her out to the Yakuza. Seems the 95 year old Yakuza leader has a thing for the beautiful rug-cutter, and will do anything necessary to possess her. The leader's henchmen hatch a plan with the begrudging help of Shizuko's husband - who agree to cancel his debt if he gives up his wife. Kidnapped, along with her sexy female bodyguard and her driver, Shizuko and crew are taken to a place called The Coliseum, where rape and snuff torture shows are played out for high-class clientelle. The driver is killed early on (no big deal - I'm here for the rope-bondage, not a sausage party...) and Shizuko and her hot bodyguard are repeatedly bound, raped, and humiliated for the pleasure of the ancient Yakuza boss for pretty much the rest of the film. There is more to the "story" then that, but I don't wanna give away too much - plus honestly - who cares? I'm on this one to see smokin' Japanese chicks get brutally molested...

But seriously, FLOWER AND SNAKE starts off pretty tame and really gets going after the first half-hour or so. The bondage and humiliation scenes are more sexy than "rough" as Shizuko and her bodyguard are bound with ropes and contorted into a bunch of wood-inducing positions. There's lots of protracted close-ups on various female body parts, tons of nekkidness, and one of the highlights: an "intersting" dildo mask double-penetration rape sequence that ends in a forced golden-shower. There's even a decent amount of full-frontal for a Japanese feature (guess they're starting to relax their "no-bush on film" laws...) and tons of tits-n'-ass. I pray for the day that Japan starts allowing film-makers to "show-all" - cuz if FLOWER AND SNAKE would have been a little more explicit - it would have gotten an 11. That being said, I'm surprised at how "tasteful" and professional the film is for the subject matter. It really doesn't come off as a fetish film, though 70% of the films run-time is basically watching chicks being bound and humiliated. Ishii somehow deftly weaves a story of obsession, betrayal, despair, and strength out of a bunch of nudie shots. The ending leaves a bit to be desired (as most Japanese films these days do...) and knocks it down just a bit for me. Overall, I would recommend FLOWER AND SNAKE for sleaze fans who would like to see something a little more "artistically" sexy than your average fetish film - but still wanna see some goods. 8.5/10 (would have been 20/10 if there would have been some explicit snatch shots...)