Bondage Ecstasy (陶酔遊戯) Review from Shishi Productions!
Hisayasu Satô is the most influential filmmaker that most people have not heard of. Referred to as one of the four devils of pinku, Satô is a filmmaker known for making incredibly sleazy films about sex and violence that are elevated by Satô’s keen eye for cinematography and his inclusion of introspective themes. Isolation, loneliness, and existentialism play as much a part in Satô’s films as ultraviolence and perverse sexual content. While Satô is primarily known outside of Japan for films such as Splatter: Naked Blood and Lolita Vibrator Torture, these films merely scratch the surface of Satô’s powerful filmmaking. Many of Satô’s best films, such as Molester’s Train: Dirty Behavior, and Brain Sex lack official releases outside of Japan and have only been available as bootlegs partly since his films have in your face and shocking titles which has led to much of Satô’s filmography becoming very obscure. However, even deeper in the trenches of Satô filmography lies one of his best films. Almost entirely unavailable outside of the Eastern world is Satô’s 1989 Bondage Ecstasy (陶酔遊戯), which might just be one of Satô’s best films.
Bondage Ecstasy follows an unnamed man, played by Shotaro Sawada, who is tortured mentally by his co-workers and boss, and is unhappy in his personal life. The man’s boyfriend, played by Osamu Fukuda, seems to be one of the largest causes of this unhappiness. Not only does he continue to work longer hours at his sales job, but he is also cheating on the man with a young woman (played by Setsuhiko Kobayashi). The three soon become involved in a sort of love triangle based around S&M. Eventually, seemingly out of nowhere, Sawada’s character turns into an insect in a dreamlike sequence and sees his boyfriend and their mutual female lover for who they really are. Along the way Sawada also realizes that he can control those who ingest him while he is an insect. While this all might seem convoluted and strange, Satô is able to weave the story in a way that sets the film apart from not just Satô’s own work, but pinku as a whole.
You see, the plot synopsis would have you believe that this is simply a pinku film with a touch of Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. This isn’t the case, as Satô seems to be more interested in the work of someone like De Sade. The sleaze in Bondage Ecstasy is evident from the first few minutes of the film, all the way through the end. Graphic and rough sex, S&M, and voyeurism are all present in the film and make for an often-uncomfortable viewing experience. But to write off Bondage Ecstasy as merely a sex film is ignorant. The segments in which Sawada’s character transforms into a bug are powerful in a strange way. A man who is stepped on by the rest of society is given a chance to see how his tormenters live who are also struggling with their own personal hell. He can get his revenge by controlling them for brief moments. Sawada is given a new view on his life and gains a power in a way. While this power initially seems to be something positive, it begins to erode at Sawada’s soul until he is no better than his tormenters. Culminating in a graphic scene of violence, the film leaves the viewer with a haunting feeling that is hard to shake. The film is disturbing, depressing, and beautiful, and the emotions that it evokes from the viewer never feel artificial.
To speak on the technical quality of the film, Bondage Ecstasy might just be Satô’s most ambitiously shot film. While the film is shot on video like most of Satô’s other work, the cinematography and direction is not the work of an amateur filmmaker. This is most evident during the segments where Sawada is an insect. Bondage Ecstasy takes a turn and what initially feels claustrophobic, opens as the viewer becomes a literal fly on the wall viewing the lives of Sawada’s acquaintances. While the film doesn’t rely on effects in the slightest, the effects that are present are very well done as well and are much better than the low budget nature of the film would have you expect. The film is grounded, and the light use of effects fits the tone and purpose of the movie well. As does the music, as the soundtrack never takes centre stage but rather mirrors the tone of the film. Bondage Ecstasy high quality filmmaking on a low budget.
Bondage Ecstasy is a criminally underseen film in an already criminally unseen director’s filmography. Themes of loneliness, power, and existentialism are mixed in with the typical pinku themes of sex and violence in only a way that Hisayasu Satô could pull off. Bondage Ecstasy is a film that will garner reactions of disgust from some and admiration from others. No one can deny the power of Bondage Ecstasy and Satô’s work as a whole. This film is essential viewing for all pinku fans, and for anyone looking to see how sexploitation and pinku cinema can be elevated beyond their peers.
AKA: 陶酔遊戯, Tôsui yûgi, Tosui Yugi, Ecstasy Game
Directed by: Hisayasu Satô
Written by: Shirô Yumeno
Produced by: Shûji Kataoka
Cinematography by: Kôichi Saitô
Editing by: Shôji Sakai
Music by: So Hayakawa
Cast: Shotaro Sawada, Osamu Fukada, Kyôko Hashimoto, Makoto Hirose, Kiyomi Itô, Takeshi Itô, Setsuhiko Kobayashi
Year: 1989
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese (English subtitles)
Colour: Colour
Runtime: 1h
Studio: Shishi Productions
Distributor: ENK Promotion
