Tenshi no harawata: Nami

Third and superb installment in the ANGEL GUTS series takes a tonal leaf from the pages of director Koji Wakamatsu.

Eri Kanuma is sensational, beautiful and a smoldering figure of naive sexuality as Nami, a woman who is writing a series of articles on women who have been raped. Although she is a pushy, insensitive reporter, her writing has raised the circulation of "The Woman", the magazine she writes for, so she is given carte blanche to take her journalistic ambitions where her heart desires.

While watching this outing, it is inevitable that Nami herself will be raped; much of the film's suspense is borne out of this erotic inevitability. Moreso than the previous two episodes in the series, the relentless raping here is highly eroticized and depicted with high style. The imagery is never less than fascinating and provocative, and the morality presented is certainly worthy of debate.

Director Noboru Tanaka conveys the underlying surrealism of Takashi Ishii's screenplay effortlessly and inventively. The choice of angles, lighting, constant use of rain and attention to carnal detail makes for a wild, purifying experience.

Ms. Kanuma more than adequately portrays a woman drawn to the "horrors" she reports. Initially repulsed by the details of the sexual assaults, she, ultimately, becomes fascinated by the imagined sexual frisson of the crimes.

Takeo Chii turns in a worthwhile portrait of an ex-book editor (Muraki) who is searching for a woman who left him for her rapist; Muraki's relationship with Nami possesses an uneasiness that adds a good deal of suspense to their many scenes together.

A pseudo-office rape is a stand-out sequence, as is the molestation of a nurse by a man in a grotesque mask.

Tanaka creates a carnal carnival of forbidden delights and pushes every aspect of every scene to the limit with worthwhile results.

A lengthier installment than most, ANGEL GUTS: NAMI possesses a courage rarely seen beyond the perimeters of Japanese cinema.