Empire of Passion (1978)

A married woman and her lover murder her husband and dump his body into a well. After a while, his ghost comes to haunt them while the local gossip grows stronger.

Director:

Nagisa Ôshima

Writers:

Itoko Nakamura (story), Nagisa Ôshima

Stars:

Tatsuya Fuji, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Takahiro Tamura

3 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Tatsuya Fuji	...	Toyoji
Kazuko Yoshiyuki	...	Seki
Takahiro Tamura	...	Gisaburo
Takuzô Kawatani	...	Inspector Hotta
Akiko Koyama	...	Mother of Landowner
Taiji Tonoyama	...	Toichiro
Sumie Sasaki	...	Odame
Eizô Kitamura
Masami Hasegawa	...	Oshin
Kenzô Kawarasaki	...	(as Kenzo Kawarazaki)

Storyline

A young man has an affair with an older woman. He is very jealous of her husband and decides that they should kill him. One night, after the husband had plenty of sake to drink and was in bed, they strangle him and dump his body down a well. To avert any suspicions, she pretends her husband has gone off to Tokyo to work. For three years the wife and her lover secretly see each other. Finally, suspicions become very strong and people begin to gossip. To make matters worse, her husband's ghost begins to haunt her and the law arrives to investigate her husband's disappearance.

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Plot Keywords:

well | ghost | village | murder | japan | 

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Taglines:

The haunting of a passionate love.

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Official submission of Japan for the 'Best Foreign Language Film' category of the 51st Academy Awards in 1979.

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Connections

Featured in Music for the Movies: Tôru Takemitsu (1994)

User Reviews

A slight disappointment

Well, I enjoyed "Ai no corrida" (Realm of Senses), and didn't expect much of this one. And I wasn't mistaken - it's boring. I like Oshima for his "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" and "Realm of Senses", but this film disappointed me. The plot is too forced, characters have no motivation. Pity.

Details

Country:

Japan France

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

26 March 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

In the Realm of Passion

Filming Locations:

Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Argos Films, Oshima Productions, Toho-Towa

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1