Flower & Snake II (2005)
"Hana to hebi 2: Pari/Shizuko" (original title)

Tooyama, an aging impotent art critic, sends his much-younger wife, Shizuko, to Paris to evaluate the work of Ikegami, an artist he sponsors. She discovers she's curious about ... See full summary »

Director:

Takashi Ishii

Writers:

Oniroku Dan (novel), Takashi Ishii (screenplay)

Stars:

Aya Sugimoto, Ken'ichi Endô, Fujiko

Cast

Cast overview:
Aya Sugimoto	...	Shizuko Tooyama
Ken'ichi Endô	...	Ryoosuke Ikegami
Fujiko	...	Sayoko Ikegami (naked girl in Ryôsuke's room)
Mieko Arai	...	Takako, The woman applied to auction
Yôzaburô Itô
Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi
Tôru Shinagawa	...	Oikawa
Shun Nakayama
Jô Shishido	...	Takayoshi Tooyama

Storyline

Tooyama, an aging impotent art critic, sends his much-younger wife, Shizuko, to Paris to evaluate the work of Ikegami, an artist he sponsors. She discovers she's curious about sado-masochism, and soon she becomes Ikegami's object of bondage as well as his muse. Encounters with Ikegami lead her into a shadowy world of wealthy patrons of ropes, humiliation, and slavery. Ikegami discovers his protective side, and Tooyama reenters the picture. Once Shizuko can reestablish control over her life, she can make a choice.

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Plot Keywords:

submission | japanese woman | bondage ropes | sex | ropes | 

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [jp]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

14 May 2005 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Flower & Snake II

Filming Locations:

France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Femme Fatale, Toei Video Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Follows Flower and Snake (2004)

User Reviews

Best movie made by Oniroku Dan or Takashi Ishii

It's difficult to imagine that cute Aya Sugimoto who was the bikini idol of the '80s have matured to play this role. But I'm impressed with the professionalism that she's nurtured over the years, and she's definitely not just an actress that can be watched, but an actress worth watching as an actor.

The combination of Oniroku Dan, and Takashi Ishii (who's a comic artist asides from being a movie director, and probably drew the artwork shown in the computer at the beginning of the movie) carried over from part 1, and (imo) have created a better visual drama than part 1.

Oniroku Dan of course was Japan's preeminent S&M novel writer, and his style shows in the way Sugimoto is bondaged, but compared to part 1 which he wrote in his 30s, this one seems to be a more modern creation. His classic style of woman (usually two of them) being abducted, taken to a secret place, and bondaged, and raped by multiple men (usually delinquents, or gangs) is also included in this story.

If all the nude scenes are taken out, this movie still could be viewed as a good drama, and a well produced movie. The visuals are very beautiful in this movie also.

This is the best movie I've seen made by Oniroku Dan or Takashi Ishii, and although I'm not a fan of either of them, if there's one movie to watch made by them, this one is it.