Synopsis
A middle-aged husband of a younger woman finds her youth intimidating to the point that he cannot become aroused. His solution involves the introduction of his daughter's lover to his wife.
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Odd Obsession
1959 ‘鍵’ Directed by Kon Ichikawa
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Get your Kink on!
What to do, when your libido doesn't keep up with you?
An evil smiling Tatsuya Nakadai welcomes you with the heartwarming message that you're decaying, 12 mm in 20 Years, setting the morbid tone what's to come perfectly.A little unknown gem from Kon Ishikawa, a movie so sleazy, downright bitter and in execution that you almost cannot believe it was made in the 50s.
A incredible Camerawork from Kazuo Miyagawa again, showing why he's one of the most versatile and innovative Directors of Cinematography ever. Every shot, every angle and every pan, scan or zoom is incredibly on point, framing everything like it almost feels like a enamored voyeur conveying the situation, but still showing the needed respect for the human beings offered in front of the lens.
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Another unusual and tasty treat from Ichikawa. It contains quite a few experimental flourishes. The dark humor is something else, though, constantly commenting on the feelings and emotions of the characters. The family it depicts is as dysfunctional as it gets, but that's what makes the dynamics between the members all the more interesting. Great performances by Machiko Kyo and Ganjiro Nakamura.
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Maratona em honra de Machiko Kyō (1924 — 2019) filme #3. Ichikawa.
Esse filme é absolutamente espetacular e criminosamente ignorado, baseado no sempre vertiginoso Tanizaki, seus contos usualmente amorais e com um toque de humor perverso são um prato cheio para o cinema.
DVDRip no MakingOff. -
'Man's aging is believed to begin at the age of 10. Eyes begin to lose their elasticity at 10. Ears begin to dull at 20. Man's eyesight begins to weaken at 40. His sense of taste becomes blunt at 50. His sense of smell abates at 60. Then, at 70, he loses two-thirds of his physical functions. This theory says a man becomes 12mm shorter every 20 years. This theory may not be conclusive. Yet no one can escape the effects of aging. It is inevitable..' (Tatsuya Nakadai as Kimura)
Brief Synopsis: A young doctor (Nakadai) is sucked into a web of erotic corruption by the aging patriarch (Ganjiro Nakamura) of a bourgeois family who worries he can no longer…
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And so I decided to just watch something that was bound to be disturbing.
A man fears growing old, so to reignite his passion, he arranges for his wife to be in compromising situations with his wife's lover. That alone is a fucked up enough premise to suggest unpleasantries, but the film starts early with strange freeze frames, jump cuts, and some close ups that feel a bit uncomfortable. It opens with a character addressing the camera, and then it jumps into the duplicities, manipulations, and interplays that culminate in a strange form of justice.
The film is not squeamish about its lurid subject matter, but it always manages to depict the nudity... not tastefully, but all the naughty bits…
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Really have no idea what to take from this film other than that it’s dark-humoredly dysfunctional and filthy.
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What I loved the most was how this film changed it's tone in a slow burning manner without giving away too much details.The camerawork is perfect and that ending is one for the ages!
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Rather provocative film for its time tho not surprising from Kon Ichikawa. Tatsuya Nakadai is really good as the unassuming junior doctor that has infiltrated this family, wooing both daughter and mother. Another movie that should be given a proper release (and probably deserves to be in the Criterion Collection). Would love to see a nice transfer of this and hear a good commentary track.
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One of Ichikawa's most deliciously acerbic films, perversely capturing the disintegration of traditional Japanese family values. Stunning use of 'Scope by master cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa. And I like the ending. A lot.
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Odd Obsession completely falls apart in its last act, abandoning its originally fairly interesting story about impotence, cuckoldry, and aging to ramp up to a James M Cain plot on steroids. The motivations of the characters make less and less sense as the story continues, oftentimes contradicting their motivations and feelings from the earlier parts of the story, with no explanation as to why. I don't know what I'm supposed to get out of several characters calling Ikuko a murderess of her husband when he has orchestrated every single instance that led to his death. It's still an entertaining story and the color cinematography was nice, and Tatsuya Nakadai looked handsome and I am a simple woman of simple pleasures so that was all I really was looking for.
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