Tenshi no harawata: Akai inga

Fourth in the series and full of stylish sequences and almost non stop full bloodied (almost hardcore) SM orientated sex. Ikeda's film does not fit the basic rape, revenge/consequence pattern of the others and initially confuses because it does not conform to our expectations. Especially difficult for western audiences is the mixing of, very strong sexual needs of women, rape and romance. We get particularly frank, wet and slurping scenes of female masturbation, images/memories/fantasies of rape and the gradual development of a most unlikely romantic liaison. The film is at times so good to look at that the slight and occasional lapses are noticeable. One is thrown for instance when Nami runs from her department store after hearing that she is to be sacked for appearing in a porno mag. The music and the way she is shot leads one to suspect that she has had enough and will seek to avenge herself. But not really… Still, I enjoyed the film and if it didn't quite have the power or coherence of the others it certainly made up for it in other ways.