The Glamorous Life of Sachiko Hanai

This movie has generally been panned in the US by people who insist on approaching it entirely as a political satire. It is somewhat lame in that respect with a bizarro plot about a bubble-headed prostitute, "Sachiko Hanai" who turns into a super-genius after she is shot in the head, and then becomes embroiled in a plot by the North Koreans and Japanese Yakuza to use a cloned, disembodied finger of George W. Bush to start WWIII. (Bush, of course, is a very easy international target, but the scene where his finger sexually assaults the heroine would have been far more believable frankly if it was Bill Clinton's cloned finger).

As a nuclear-themed political satire, this is not going to make anybody forget about "Dr. Strangelove", but it's important to remember that this is basically a sex film. "Sachiko Hanai" is a lot more sexy and spends a lot more time naked than Peter Sellers in his three roles in "Dr. Strangelove". And the scene where she throws hot sex on a middle-aged college professor while they discuss Kirkegaard and Noam Chomsky may not be the most clever satire imaginable, but by the very lame international standards of comedy in sex films, it's positively brilliant.

This is a latter-day Japanese "pink" film, which is about the only genre left anywhere in the world where you have erotic films with ANYTHING of interest in them beyond the sex. If you want clever political satire, there's certainly much better movies than this. On the other hand, if you're nothing but a hairy-palmed, ceiling painter, the plot here, and the (somewhat) non-graphic sex, will no doubt only serve to distract you from the matter at, um, hand. There is always a place though as far as I'm concerned for a film like this that is decently made (relatively speaking, of course) and that combines sex appeal with something that is at least a little more interesting.

I found this movie to be surprisingly enjoyable. Its a pinku film due to the nudity and sex scenes but even with her clothes on the actress was quite good. The movie seems to be a farcical lark on those thriller "there is a WMD on the loose" scenarios. The humour (intended or not, Im not sure) was pretty good. Some of the sequences makes no sense but again I don't think this movie is meant to be taken seriously. I think when watching the movie you have to understand that it is essentially a B movie and not compare to it big budget thrillers (or even low budget art-house movies). With that in mind you will actually find the movie quite enjoyable.

First off, I think the other reviewer was himself too wrapped up in the sex scenes and completely missed the charm of this film. Yes, this is a sex movie and yes the sex scenes do go on for quiet a while and yes the lead actress Emi Kuroda is nude quite a bit. For some, all that can either be a deterrent but you should neither dismiss nor approve of this film.

I can say this. The film is offbeat and has a distinct charm and sense of humor to it. In this world where Transformers is the number 1 movie in America (God help us all), The Glamorous Life of Sachiko Hanai is a much needed change of pace.

Again, I will stress. Do not dismiss this film because of the sex and nudity in it. Watch it through and you will like it. Also, ignore the box calling it "a mixture of Godard and the South Park crew." Godard could never make a movie like this

violence and sex burning high in a dizzy flash that projects the built icon of our contemporary world, America and her leader.

you can put yourself through many intriguing ideas throughout this movie. do Japanese love urban America lifestyle? are they just addicted to the glamour fantasy like on a cheap drug? or do they seriously take it as a joke upon themselves that ultimately hits back to the source?

giving in to the senses will melt preconceptions and make it so more real... but don't just take it for the lust it brings upon you. if you do give in try to keep yourself cool

• it's like a bullet in the head!

It's hard to know just what to make of the Japanese film, "The Glamorous Life of Sachiko Hanai." Is it a parody of a softcore porn flick or just a softcore porn flick itself? I tend to think it's the former, since, along with its myriad (and fairly graphic) simulated sex scenes, the film is also a wildly funny, tongue-in-cheek absurdist farce, replete with social criticism and political commentary for the deeper thinkers in the crowd. Not all of it works equally well, but you at least gotta' give 'em props for trying.

Sachiko Hanai is an attractive young tutor with what a polite person might describe as an "active interest in sexual expression." Despite her job as a teacher, Sachiko is no great shakes in the brains department, until, that is, she is accidentally shot in the forehead by a secret agent from North Korea. Due to the bullet's strategic placement in the cerebral cortex, Sachiko suddenly becomes a super genius, able to comprehend French philosophy, complex laws of physics and arcane mathematical equations with no trouble whatsoever. She also develops a paranormal ability to peer into the unseen mysteries of the universe and to foretell future events. Her condition, however, does not curtail her appetite for sex; in fact, if anything, her newfound intelligence seems only to exacerbate it.

Indeed, much of the fun of "Sachiko Hanai" derives from the incongruous juxtaposition of raw sexuality with intellectual pretentiousness. There's something immensely funny about watching people make passionate love while debating the finer points of dialectical materialism and String Theory or using Susan Sontag and Noam Chomsky as aphrodisiacs. The actors help to pull it off by playing their scenes with a straight-faced, deadpan seriousness that enhances the humor.

The plot gets even weirder when Sachiko finds herself in possession of the cloned, self-animated finger of George W. Bush and the machine that would allow it to unleash an arsenal of deadly nuclear weapons on an unsuspecting world. How's that for a storyline?

I frankly have no idea what this spy thriller cum sex comedy is really all about, but I had a great deal of fun watching it just the same.