Rokugatsu no hebi

Another absolute stormer from the man who melted my brain with the excellence of Tetsuo as a teenager to such an extent that I had to pull it out and iron it and put it back in again. Then I went and saw Hiruko The Goblin. Ow....then Shinya popped up acting in Ichi The Killer a couple of years ago and I was reminded once more what a sick, deep and utterly vital gentleman he is. This is his take on the erotic thriller, and is fairly restrained by his standards and all the better for it. OK he does strangle a man with a metal penis at one stage, but one would feel let down without at least a touch of the old body horror. Actually this film has plenty of that, but it's more acutely concerned with a (sadly) more everyday disease that the fetishishic, grim techno porn of his earlier work. interesting performances, utterly compulsive storyline and busy, atmospheric camera-work would recommend this film to anyone fond of the director, and to a wider audience too one hopes.

For serious film acolytes only, or others who like to have their brains twisted into a heap. Don't be tempted by the flagrant advertising of kinky erotica and gratuitous violence unless you are prepared to endure a plot that would have Kubrick and Lynch scrabbling for a storyline that makes sense, images that make your nerves cringe like knifeblades squealing on glass, and an evocation of politically incorrect emotions that would allow a psychiatrist to put you in the same wing as Jack the Ripper.

From the man who brought you Tetsuo <cue references that put your cult film fan status under the blue light detector>, which was the story about a man who becomes part-metal and unleashes his transformation in a grotesque, unambiguously sexually symbolic, and very violent way, comes this latest release by someone many will hate to admit is a director of very considerable talent. Making you wonder what is acceptable in art for art's sake, Director Shinya Tsukamoto has no shortage of material to help you push the limits, and he takes lead roles in his own films as well as those of others. Recently he starred in Ichi the Killer, a film that divided critics with it's apparently 'pointless' violence - but the artistry was in making the film as an exact copy of a 'manga' cartoon, right down to the extensively faithful bloodletting and chopped up body parts. OK, you get the picture of the sort of weird world Tsukamoto works with . ..

So what about Snake of June? Firstly the 'story' (I won't tell you enough to spoil it, but skip this para if you like to be shocked without much prior warning haha). Rinko, a woman who works as a bored and frustrated telephone cousellor - a sort of Samaritans line - is blackmailed by a former caller. She 'helped him into wanting to live' and now he is going to 'help' her to release her inhibitions and become 'the person she really is'. The blackmailer has pictures of her masturbating and in exchange for the negatives forces her to do various acts, like wearing a mini-skirt in public with no knickers, and on to various things with vibrators and buying vegetables. Her balding husband, with whom our initial sympathies lie, shows a sexist selfishness when Rinko needs an operation. Meanwhile the blackmailer, as all blackmailers do, takes things further but not perhaps in the way you might expect.

On the plus side, Snake in June, like Tetsuo, carries some of the most powerfully shot images of modern cinema. In classic blue-tinted monochrome, each frame is composed with the skill of an auteur. The haunting sets of rain-sodden alleyways, first rate acting, ingenious story chapters, and perhaps the challenging way in which our sympathies are reversed, all raise it above the level of fantasy porn. On the downside, many will find the style and storyline inaccessible or unbearable (although most males and some females may find the shockingly convincing erotic scenes worth the ordeal). You'll never forget the rain. You'll never forget the face of Rinko in orgasm. But will it be a memory you'll linger over?

I'm giving this film 8/10 because for serious film goers it perhaps offers a thought provoking example in an unusual genre, and expertly made. But it also contains much that some people will wish they had never seen, and much that will cause some people to walk out rather than endure the whole 77 minutes.

This film is about sexual inhibitions, fantasies and social restrictions. The reviewer who said this film is stupid and has no story obviously doesn't grasp the fact that this is an avant-garde film. The imagery, themes and sound are what make the film, not the narrative. It works on a different level and is better appreciated by people who are interested in film as an art form rather than merely popcorn entertainment. The imagery is dark and provocative and enhanced by the blue and white monochrome. The director employs his trademark hand-held camera and big close ups. Although the themes are sexual in nature the film never feels like exploitation. The film isn't perfect by any means but is an interesting example of avant garde film-making by a significant Japanese director. Watch it with an open mind.

If TETSUO was about hating your body, SNAKE OF JUNE is about embracing it. Fans of the former will know what to expect in terms of style: black-and-white, wild photography, bizarre imagery etc. What they won't expect is the relatively accessible and easy-to-follow storyline in the first half, as a woman discovers her own desires through the promptings of a blackmailer. About half-way through the focus is switched to her husband, and here we revert to total obscurity, in the TETSUO and TETSUO 2 mould. Tsukamoto buffs will find it all very interesting, others will be left baffled.

Snake of June, A (2002)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

A rather bizarre Japanese film from director Shinya Tsukamoto. A woman is photographed masturbating by a deranged stalker and soon he makes her go on a sexual voyage that includes humiliating herself. The stalker does this so that the woman will do what she wants instead of being "held down" by her boring husband. This is the first film I've seen from this director and while I loved his technique I can't really say I enjoyed the story being told. The first forty minutes are so are full of some nice, tense moments but when the side story with the husband came into play I really lost all interest in the story. The blue-tinted color of the film was very nice and the director does get some good performance but he simply lost me half way through.