Compare and Contrast Between "In the Realm of Senses" and "Maborosi" Essay

Introduction

Japan has one of the largest and oldest film industries across the world. Japan cinema had been unstable over the era of post-Pacific War, but from 1986, the industry took a new twist and produced films that sold internationally (Aaronwest, n.p). "In the Realm of Senses" is a French-Japanese film produced by Nagisa Oshima and released in 1976. The film is based upon a real-life occurrence that happened in Japan on 17, May 1936. The incident involves a grisly murder of a man, Ishida Kichizo by Abe Sada, his lover. The two were having a sexual affair when she chocked her husband to death, cut off his manhood and ran away carrying it with her before she was caught two days later. The film focuses on the love affair between Sada and Ishida, depicting their sexual relationship in an explicit detail. The film portrays Sada as a woman with unquenchable sexual desire while his husband is seen as a vehicle that serves her insatiable thirst.

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"Maborosi" is also a Japanese film directed by Hirokazu Koreeda and released in 1995 (Sgammato, n.p). It based on a story of a woman, Esumi, whose happiness was destroyed by an occasion that seems to have happened without a reason. Her obsession with death turned into reality when her husband, Izuo, died in a grisly accident. Her husband's murder brought more sadness into her life, but as she picks up her broken pieces, she is distracted at some point by happiness from her new husband. Therefore, "Maborosi" and "In the Realm of Senses" are films that portray love stories of two women, their obsessions and what conspires in their journeys of finding happiness in their lives.

In the Realm of Senses

Abe Sada's case centers Japanese cultural mythology depicting a dangerous passion of a woman, a real-life dokufu, whose sexual dissatisfaction is a literal incarnation of Barbara Creed's perception of the 1992 "monstrous feminine" (Peggy, n.p). The film reconstructs the relationship between Kichi and Sada, from the moment Sada arrives as an employee at an inn owned by Kichi, their triumph and a conclusive end. In the realm of senses is essentially an unfathomable and revolting love story. The couple, Sada and Kiki isolate themselves from the society to satisfy their pleasure. Sada is sexually obsessed, and as time progresses, the ordinary activities become boring, and they continue to ratchet up their affair. As the sexual activity grows boring, Sada turns into masochism. She learned the act while working a prostitute as she always encouraged her clients to slap her repetitively. She enjoys masochism, which makes her bring it to her bedroom where she stayed with her husband. She moves a step further and introduces choking when performing the act. She enjoys the feeling of being chocked by her husband during the sexual act.

Moreover, despite all the choking and masochism, Sada finds the activities boring thus; they still need to up their game (Peggy, n.p). However, when Kichi tells Sada that he should not stop the chocking the next time they perform the sexual act, he is making his last sacrifice. He has done everything possible to please her wife whom he truly loves, and there is nothing else that he can do to satisfy her any further. Therefore, he is letting go. According to the Japanese culture, sacrificing one's life for their loved ones was a courageous act, and Kichi's death was seen as an unconventional and honourable way to end his life. When Sada realizes that his husband is gone, he takes his manhood, the part of his body that she feels belongs to her. It is grotesque and shocking, but in their situation, it depicts love as she takes the part she loved the most and flees with it carrying it in her handbag. Sada's journey to find happiness ends up with the death of her husband and her imprisonment thus, introducing loneliness in her life.

When watching the film for the first time, it seems amusing and shocking, and scenes like children throwing snowballs at an old man's genitals only serve to provoke the viewers (Aaronwest, n.p). The old man in the film is only significant as he recognizes Sada as a prostitute before she became a worker in the inn, thus adding very little to the plot. The producer, Oshima, puts no boundaries as he shows all the sexual acts, in which the movie is based on. He accomplishes what most producers have failed to by treating the subject of sex without shrinking any of its aspects. The sexual themes presented in the film have raised a lot of controversies in Japan as some deem it inappropriate and pornographic, but from my point of view, the film is great and educative as the sex scenes are not meant to arouse anyone, hence it should not be viewed as pornographic. Additionally, the political context of the film has been overlooked as several scenes outside the couple's bedroom show the several soldiers marching from the opposite direction of the house. The soldiers depict the Japanese nationalism and militarism that arose in the 1930s. "In the Realm of Senses" goes beyond Japanese politics and explores how someone can flee from the society to sensuality. The visual imagery in the film including the sonic soundscape and the soundtrack punctuations by traditional Japanese music are also great as they depict the Japanese traditions and nature of life.

Maborosi

"Maborosi" is a great film that depicts the life of Yumiko, a lonely woman who seeks to find answers and happiness in her life (Sgammato, n.p). The movie begins with a flashback of Yumiko as a young girl watching her grandmother wandering off to her biological home on foot but never appeared again. She has many questions in her mind as she cannot understand why her grandmother had to return to her childhood home, why she did not come back, and she did not stop her. Yumiko is obsessed with the dream as it keeps on haunting her and she cannot stop thinking about it. Yumiko believes that she was careless as she left her grandmother to wander off and die on her way to her biological home. The feeling that she is responsible for her grandmother's death haunts her for the better part of her life, and she cannot find answers to her endless questions. Yumiko and Ikuo live happily and deeply love each other. They had a son who increased the joy in her life, but it was cut short by the death of her husband.

At a time she is trying to find meaning and happiness in her life, tragedy strikes bringing back the sorrow and sadness (Marshall, n.p). The death of her husband looks like suicide as he could have kept out of the lane to avoid being hit by the train. Her dream seems to have come to reality as she had watched her husband living their home, but he never came back, the same case with her grandmother. She cannot understand why her husband committed suicide making her devastated and depressed. Her aunt becomes a matchmaker and finds a husband for her who lights happiness back in her life. The cinematography tells the story and the camera captures shots at various angles to link the script with the pictures. After the death of Ikuo in Osaka, the camera is preoccupied with a tunnel, the narrow street with tall buildings and the natural lights used to capture the film give a melancholic feeling to the scenes captured in the city. All the aspects of visual imagery, the passages, alleys, and tunnels, used in the film are a reflection of Yumiko's inner emotional feelings, trapped by confusion and grief. The film is also a long camera shot, which emphasizes the disconnection between Yumiko and life after the death of her husband.

Comparison and Contrast between the films

"In the Realm of Senses" and "Maborosi" are Japanese films portraying various similarities and differences in their setting (Aaronwest, n.p). Both movies depict the theme of love whereby they narrate the love stories of two women, Sada in "In the Realm of Senses" and Yumiko in "Maborosi." They both had strong relationships which brought joy in their lives. However, their happiness was cut short by the loss of their husbands, and their joy was turned to sorrow. Sada's husband died while they were having sex while Ikuo was hit by a train. As seen from both films, the death of the two husbands was intentional; Kichi's death was out of love while the reason behind Ikuo's suicide remains to be a mystery that Yumiko tries to find. The manner in which the two men dye are very different as Kichi passes away in the arms of his wife, Ikuo dies in away from his home in a grisly accident.

Moreover, life after the death of their husbands also contrast as Yumiko finds another husband, but Sada is on the run for two days before she is arrested and taken to jail (Sgammato, n.p). As Yumiko finds a happily ever after, Sada faces the consequences of her actions in prison. While Yumiko feels a disconnection with her husband, Sada carries her husband's manhood to maintain their connection even after the death of Kichi. The writings on her husband's chest "me and Kichi forever" portray the connection between the two. Their obsessions are also the complete opposite of each other as Sada is obsessed with sex, an act of pleasure and happiness while Yumiko has an obsession with death which means sorrow and grief in her life. Sada's obsession prompts her to find ways to satisfy her sexual desires while Yumiko's obsession forces her to find answers behind the death of her husband. Sada and Yumiko try to find happiness in their lives but as Sada is focused on finding sexual satisfaction, Yumiko is struggling to find the truth behind her grandmother's disappearance and the death of her husband. Despite the differences, the films portray the themes of love, obsession and clearly narrates the predicaments and achievements encountered in their journey of finding happiness.

Works Cited

Aaronwest. "In the Realm of the Senses, Nagisa Oshima." Criterion Close-up. Available at <https://criterioncloseup.com/2015/02/22/in-the-realm-of-the-senses-nagisa-oshima-1976/> accessed on18th November 2018.

Marshall, Colin. "The Humanist: Hirokazu Koreeeda's Maborosi (1995)." 3 Quarks Daily. 2009. Available at < https://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2009/09/the-humanists-hirokazu-koreedas-maborosi-1995.html> accessed on18th November 2018.

Peggy, Nelson. "In The Realm of the Senses." Brattle Theatre Film Notes. 2018. Available at <http://www.brattleblog.brattlefilm.org/2008/12/31/in-the-realm-of-the-senses-330/> accessed on 18th November 2018.

Sgammato, Joseph. "A Woman Asks Why: Maborosi (Hiokazu Koreea, 1995)." The sense of Cinemas. Available at < http://sensesofcinema.com/2017/cteq/maborosi/> accessed on 18th November 2018.