Kushi no hi

Released in various parts of the world as either INVITATION TO LUST of LOVE IN A SMALL ROOM, this slow-moving Japanese love story seems claustrophobic even during outdoor scenes. It is based on a popular 1974 novel by Furui Yoshikichi, titled "Kushi no hi" (or "Fiery Comb"), which was the movie's title when it was released in Japan. Director Tatsumi Kumashiro, who made several "pinku" sex dramas over the years, seems unable to dramatize the more subtle aspects of the novel and frequently defaults to prolonged softcore sex scenes filmed in such dire closeup it is difficult at times to know what is going on.

Hirobe is a lonely, unhappy man who wanders the city after witnessing his girlfriend die in his arms from a terminal illness. One day he meets Masako and they begin an affair. Masako is also lonely and unhappy, caught in a dismal marriage with Yazawa, who is cheating on her with a younger lover. Although Hirobe and Masako become lovers and spend a lot of time together, neither appears to overcome their unhappiness. Hirobe admits throughout the movie that he doesn't understand women, a trait that is shared by the other men in the small cast and accounts for the film's theme of immature love that has no happy resolution.

Although this movie attempts to depict a great intimacy between Hirobe and Masako, the staging of numerous lovemaking scenes is ludicrously unromantic, with both actors crawling along floors and in chairs entangled in each other's arms and legs . Masao Kusakari's performance as Hirobe also misfires. Though the character is child-like and self-centered, Kusakari plays him as slightly psychotic, including many moments when rather than articulating dialog he growls and stammers. In fact, all the actors underplay so much that their conversations are mostly unintelligible.