The Bride

Shuji, an unemployed young man, has been living a haphazard and lethargic life, cheating on his wife with his girlfriends and constantly asking his best friend for loans. Then one day, Shuji takes a train and arrives at a country town. There, he meets Sachiko, a woman who never smiles, and starts working as a live-in employee at the printing house where she works. Shuji has a lot of emotionless sex with Sachiko.

Ryo Masuda is a washed up adult video director without a leading actress. Now, he has to find someone to re-place her quick, so he can produce his latest low budget S&M video. When the young Yukie appears to turn the production into an unexpected hit, Ryo becomes drawn to the world of sadomasochism and his newfound star.

A woman who has been putting on a facade, not wanting to be left behind by city life, is drawn to a landscape she feels left behind—a ruined mountainside. As she wanders through it, she finds a strange sense of peace, and eventually, she liberates herself and falls into the abyss of sensuality.

The opening bust-shot, with its frequent use of cut-away shots and blurred dialogue, is like a campus version of Ozu's films. As the story progresses, however, the film itself breaks away from a style that was as borrowed (but still very fitting) as the protagonist. The way the film acquires its own rhythm and flavour is more than just a pleasurable experience, it is a cinematic pleasure.