This movie freaked me out the first time I saw it. I couldn't even look at a hard-boiled egg for weeks afterward. It's taken me more than a decade to come back to see it a second time. It's almost a dare from director to audience--how much can you bear to watch, eh? How much sex could the man bear to take? How far gone was Abe Sada's mind? The second time through, I was ready for the hard-boiled egg. I wasn't ready to notice the scene where--in a dream, of course--Ms. Abe molests a child.
On a lighter note, when I went to Japan in 1996, I found mentioning Abe Sada's name elicited a humorous reaction even then. At the time, it was similar to saying "Lorena Bobbitt." Hands went unconsciously to protect the, er, "toys."
On a lighter note, when I went to Japan in 1996, I found mentioning Abe Sada's name elicited a humorous reaction even then. At the time, it was similar to saying "Lorena Bobbitt." Hands went unconsciously to protect the, er, "toys."