Flower and Snake (2004)
"Hana to hebi" (original title)

Tôyama, a weak-willed businessman, is in debt to the Yakuza; they also have a video of him bribing a government minister. To clear his debts, he agrees to let them drug and kidnap his wife ... See full summary »

Director:

Takashi Ishii

Writers:

Oniroku Dan (novel), Takashi Ishii (screenplay)

Stars:

Aya Sugimoto, Renji Ishibashi, Ken'ichi Endô

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Tôyama, a weak-willed businessman, is in debt to the Yakuza; they also have a video of him bribing a government minister. To clear his debts, he agrees to let them drug and kidnap his wife Shizuko, Japan's queen of the tango, and subject her to the proclivities of a 95-year-old voyeur, who's a Yakuza boss. After a masked ball, Shizuko is taken prisoner; she fights her captors, submitting only when the life of Kyôko, her female bodyguard, is threatened. Tôyama feels regret and seeks to buy back Shizuko, but by this time, she may be enjoying her situation. Is she, or is she pretending in order to protect herself and Kyôko? Would she want a way out if there is one?

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Plot Keywords:

yakuza | bodyguard | panties | forced to strip | three word title | 

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

official website

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese English

Release Date:

13 March 2004 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Flower and Snake

Company Credits

Production Co:

Femme Fatale, Toei Video Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film is based on an S&M novel written by Oniruku Dan which has reached cult status in Japan. There have been several prior film adaptations of the novel: a 1968 Pink film (Hana to hebi yori: niku no shiiku), a 1974 Roman porno with Naomi Tani in her first starring role for Nikkatsu studio, and a 3-film Nikkatsu series (1985-1987).

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Connections

Followed by Flower & Snake II (2005)

User Reviews

An erotic masterpiece of sexual humiliation.

Incredibly hot Aya Sugimoto stars as Shizuko,a bored and unfulfilled wife of a wealthy businessman.When her husband is blackmailed by the Yakuza,Shizuko is sold to Oyabun Tashiro as payment.Tashiro quickly places Shizuko in a private S&M show for an elite audience in order to satisfy his own unfulfilled sexual needs.Shizuko is then subjected to sexual humiliation in front of the masked audience."Flower and Snake" is based on Oniroku Dan's highly successful novel.The film is perverse and sexually explicit,so fans of Japanese pinku eiga should get it as soon as possible.A famous Japanese singer and model Aya Sugimoto spends lots of her screen time naked and she has truly wonderful body.The story may be shocking for casual viewers,however if you are curious give this stunningly erotic masterpiece a look.9 out of 10.