Tandem

I can't help feeling it'd have made more sense if I was Japanese, or at least more familiar with the culture. It's basically a chance encounter between two men, the older of whom drives the stilted conversation and subsequent journey they share. Intercut into this are scenes of both men having sex. One is married and cheating on his wife, the other is the third wheel in someone else's relationship (as best I could tell!). The combined result is rather surreal, and comes to a somewhat predictable ending. The subtitled version I saw did have excellent translations, particularly english idioms.

Two men meet at a tavern one night by chance and discuss their sexcapades. They then leave and travel by motorcycle together in Tandem although there's no friendship between them. Along the way we learn a bit more about both of them and as told thru flashbacks about their sexcapades & personal lives.

This is a Pink Eiga and there is nudity and several sex scenes. Some of the sex scenes were boring although some were at least more realistic (tho softcore of course) than usual in Pink Eiga. There was some story dialogue during one scene. None of the sex scenes did anything for me. Could have fast-forward thru.

The story & two main characters I found very interesting. Never knew where it was going next. Most western audiences wouldn't get this film but I enjoyed it. Entertaining.

Anyone with a sense of humour must watch this film! It is like a porn film mixed with serious drama. It is a thing of beauty, especially the train scene!

Me and my friends look upon it with legendary status.

WATCH THIS FILM

Pretty grubby example of Japanese 'pink' cinema. Not only is much of the sex action of a rather dubious nature but the print gives the appearance of being transferred from a bootleg video. It is probably the low budget that makes for this look and it must be said that the very grubbiness of the look does seem much in keeping with such sequences as that of feeling up a young woman on a train and a virtual rape. Perhaps more disturbing in both these scenes is that the girl on the train, far from being mortified begins to revel in the action even taking the initiative in the end and similarly the 'rape' victim also eventually warms to the vigour. This is a rather strange movie in which the two male protagonists meet by accident and then proceed to tell each other of their sexual escapades, so I suppose it is possible they are embellishing their tales, but it is never quite certain.

The story, told in flashbacks, as two men travel through the night on a motorcycle, is loaded with highly charged eroticism. Sex and violence are juxtaposed against the drabness of the mens everyday lives, effectively blurring the line between what is real and what is fantasy.

Founded on the well known myth of furtive sexual gropers on the rush-hour Tokyo commuter trains Tandem is a low key masterpiece of Japanese Pink Cinema.