The Bondage Master

This review is for the English dubbed version from 2000.

The Bondage Master is an expert with rope. He uses his skills both for photo shoots and live performances at an S&M club. He saves a woman who was being attacked and learns she is searching for her sister who has been working as bondage model. He agrees to help search.

This is a modern Pink Eiga. There is limited nudity. There are some sex scenes. And there is a lot of bondage along with limited discipline. S&M is a definite theme for this film. The Bondage and S&M elements were handled without being truly mean or degrading. In fact at times it was with a slight sense of humor and always with being consensual.

This is one story with several sub-stories tied in. This kept the entire film interesting. A bit of crime drama, drama with some comedy. The characters are very interesting too.

The biggest problem is with the English dubbing. I will need to see the original Japanese version but I didn't like some of the English voices & performances. Most sound like what you'd hear in a bad B movie from the 1980's. Played way over the top for comic relief. One character is the single totally stupid character often in B movies. He ruined almost every scene he was in.

This had the potential to be a truly excellent movie. A couple of abrupt scene changes that I had to rewind to understand. Plus that one stupid character that needn't been written that way. Still this was actually an entertaining movie.

How you react to this movie will depend on your tolerance for the ability of Japanese film makers to mix genres with the greatest of ease in order to make unique concoctions. Nawa Deka or the Rope Detective is an off beat mix of bondage, mystery and comedy that comes together in a rather one of a kind film.

The film tells the story of a guy who is very good at using ropes to tie up women for erotic photo shoots. As one women he's working on says, "you're very good, it doesn't hurt at all". The guy also works at a bondage club where S&M shows are put on. It isn't long before he's hip deep into a couple of side problems, one involving the missing sister of a woman he rescues and the other the death of a woman at friends house and who was being chased by the yakuza.

Its a story similar to ones you've seen a dozen times before but told with a new angle that makes it worth your time and popcorn. At first, as we see the first photo shoot, the film is somewhat erotic then as things progress and we see the matter of fact attitude of the crew the eroticism wears off and we're left giggling at the silliness of it all. Clearly this is a film thats going to put a spin on your expectations. I liked that the film drew you in with the promise of sex and then pulled the rug out from under you, leaving you instead in the company of some rather interesting characters. And make no mistake about it the reason that the film works is because you genuinely like the people on the screen. The main characters are actually just a bunch of ordinary people on the fringe of society where bondage is just a job. You feel their pain and happiness because they really are just like the rest of us.

I really liked this film a great deal. To be honest its probably not the 8 out of 10 that I've rated it, but given that its a genuinely good movie that is pretty much unlike any other that I've ever seen I've had to give it a coupe of extra points. By being unique its gone from being a run of the mill mystery comedy that I just watched and enjoyed, and turned into something that I'll remember and can recommend to those who want to see something familiar done differently.

Be warned you will see nudity and bondage so if that sort of thing on the face of it upsets you look elsewhere. Also there can be a hard edge to some of the violence so this is definitely a hard R rated film.

If you can find yourself a copy do see it.