| Guilty of Romance | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Sion Sono |
| Written by | Sion Sono |
| Starring | Miki Mizuno Makoto Togashi Megumi Kagurazaka |
| Cinematography | Sōhei Tanikawa |
| Edited by | Jun'ichi Itō |
| Music by | Yasuhiro Morinaga |
Production companies | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 144 min.[1] (Original Japanese Version) 113 min. (International Version) |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
Guilty of Romance (恋の罪, Koi no Tsumi) is a 2011 Japanese film directed by Sion Sono.[2]
The film consists of two versions: an International Cut, spanning 113 minutes, and an original Japanese Cut, spanning 144 minutes. The latter is currently unavailable outside of Japan, France, Germany, and the United States.[3] The movie was inspired by the murder of Yasuko Watanabe, which occurred on March 9, 1997.
Plot
A grisly murder occurs in Maruyama-cho, Shibuya, Tokyo – a love hotel district – where a woman is found dead in a derelict apartment. As the police investigate, the story interweaves with that of Izumi, the wife of a famous romantic novelist whose life seems just a daily repetition without romance. One day, to break away from the loveless monotony, she decides to follow her desires and accepts a job as a nude model enacting sex in front of the camera. Soon she meets with a mentor and starts selling her body to strangers, while at home she hides behind the facade that she is still the wife she is supposed to be.
Cast
- Miki Mizuno – Kazuko
- Makoto Togashi – Mitsuko
- Megumi Kagurazaka – Izumi
Production
The cast features Megumi Kagurazaka, Sono's wife and a very regular collaborator of his.[4]
Reception
A review on the website The Spinning Image states that 'All the way through this microscopic scrutiny of (the film's) lead character and how she reacts to this underworld(,) Sion (Sono) conjured up a variety of strange scenes designed to disturb".[5] A review in Variety, although praising the film, states what follows:"Kafkaesque storytelling, which intertwines the stories of three women grappling with sex for money and murder, is again inspired by fact, but the feverish imagery remains the director’s own. Despite a muddled ending, this will be a “Guilty” pleasure for the helmer’s fans and genre aficionados, though it won’t broaden Sono’s niche appeal.”[6]
References
- ↑ Bale, Miriam (14 March 2014). "Murder, Mentoring and Masochism in Japan". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- ↑ 恋の罪 (2011). Allcinema.net (in Japanese). Stingray. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
- ↑ "Rapid Eye Movies (German distributor)". Archived from the original on 28 March 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
- ↑ Blair, Gavin J. (7 February 2019). "Japanese Auteur Sion Sono Hospitalized After Heart Attack". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
- ↑ "Guilty of Romance Review (2011)". www.thespinningimage.co.uk. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
- ↑ Hoeij, Boyd van (19 May 2011). "Guilty of Romance". Variety. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
External links
- Guilty of Romance at IMDb
- Review Archived 2 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine at Twitch Film