Korida lásky
fiction / 1976 / Japan, France / col. / 105 min.
Director: Nagisa Ošima • Nagisa Oshima
Screenplay: Nagisa Ošima • Nagisa Oshima
Photography: Hideo Ito
Editor: Keiiči Uraoka • Keiichi Uraoka
Music: Minoru Miki
Cast: Tacuja Fudži • Tatsuya Fuji, Eiko Macuda • Eiko Matsuda, Aoi Nakadžima • Aoi Nakajima, Meika Seri, Taidži Tonojama • Taiji Tonoyama, Hiroko Fudži • Hiroko Fuji, Naomi Širaiši • Naomi Shiraishi, Kjodži Kokonoe • Kyoji Kokonoe
This notorious film by the nonconformist Japanese filmmaker depicts the development of a relationship between a young woman and a hotel owner who hires her as a maid. While initially passive, the woman gradually succumbs to her sexual desire and uses her insatiable sensuality to lead the experienced man down the path of devastating desire. We witness an episodic depiction of various sexual and even sadomasochistic practices and naturalistic scenes meant to illustrate the destructive depth of instinctual behavior – the film thus formally fulfills the definition of pornography while omitting its primitiveness and self-serving nature. This feature was among the titles to break various sexual taboos in the 1970s, offering a reflection on voyeurism, love and death, old age, the influence of sexual desire on the human psyche and the relationship between a man and a woman.