Intentions of Murder (1964)

Intentions of Murder (Akai satsui)
Directed by Shohei Imamura
Written by Keiji Hasebe and Shohei Imamura; story by Shinji Fujiwara
1964/Japan
Nikkatsu
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] I am interested in the relationship of the lower part of the human body and the lower part of the social structure on which the reality of daily Japanese life obstinately supports itself. — Shohei Imamura[/box]

Two and a half hours of misery was too much for me no matter how interestingly shot.

Sadako Takahashi is a plump housewife and mother of a six-year-old.  Her mother-in-law and husband treat her like a servant.  In fact, she has never been listed in the family register and thus is not legally either a wife or mother.  One day, Hiraoko breaks into the house while she is alone and robs and rapes her.  She tells no one and decides the only way out is suicide.  She is unsuccessful.

Things get worse as Hiraoko keeps coming back for more.  He eventually declares his love but she resists.  After some time, Sadako falls pregnant.  She is unsure of the identity of the father as her husband also has joyless sex with her regularly.  This leads to more thoughts of suicide and/or murder.  In the meantime, her husband’s mistress is spying on her encounters with Hiraoko with a camera.  The ending came as a surprise to me.

This film is strikingly shot with some unforgettable images.  There is a dream sequence in which Sadako is pushed off a train and goes flying into space that is incredible.  In fact, many sequences straddle the line between imagination and reality.  I think I missed a lot.  I will never get a chance to fully analyze the film though, because I can’t see ever watching it again.

Clip – no subtitles but the camera work alone is worth seeing