Go, Go Second Time Virgin

As other reviewers have mentioned, it's difficult to know what to make of this film - and I suffered from the same problem! Go Go Second Time Virgin is as surreal and strange as its title suggests it is. The basis behind the plot is relatively simple, but I have no idea what the film is trying to say and that's what enforces the weirdness of the film. Go Go Second Tim Virgin starts with a rape sequence and from there we focus on two teenagers; one of which being the girl that was raped. The pair of them are depressed, and the girl insists that she wants to die and asks the boy to do it, but he refuses, preferring a different solution to the problem. The film is stylishly shot; most of it is in black and white although certain sequences are portrayed in colour. The bleak atmosphere is the main point of the film; this film is extremely bleak throughout and not a great deal of fun, which might not please anyone going into this film expecting something more fun, considering the film's 'pinku' origins. There's not a great deal of sleaze in the film - the rape scenes are not overly graphic and there's not a great deal of gore either. I won't name this film as a favourite or anything like that, but it's an interesting little flick that is definitely worth seeing, and therefore comes recommended.

GO, GO, SECOND-TIME VIRGIN! (1969): First things first - quite possibly the best name for a movie ever! A strangely jaunty, optimistic sounding title for such a grim and nihilistic movie though.

"If you tell me why you want to die, then I'll kill you"

"Really?" "Yes?" "It's because I'm so hopelessly unhappy in this life"

(Bit of a rough quote there I'm afraid). GGSTV! opens with a 17 year old girl being dragged to a rooftop and raped by a gang of thugs, whilst a boy of a similar age watches on expressionless. The sun rises the next day to find boy and girl still in the same positions, sat in silence until the girl rises and wishes him "Good morning". Awkward conversation arises, and the girl reveals that this is the second time she's been raped. She is surprised to find that she has bled this time too (hence the title, which is actually a line from a song she sings to herself). The conversation progresses little better when she asks the boy to kill him. Throughout the course of the day, the boy lets her into his own life a little, which we find to be at least as f***ed up as hers. I don't know what it is about the Japanese, but they seem to have a knack of producing the strangest and most disturbed movies in the world. Takashi Miike might be shocking audiences and provoking walk outs now, but 32 years ago Koji Wakamatsu was producing movies that were at least as dysfunctional and disturbing. Whilst the west was having flower power and free love, Japan appears to have had quite a different approach to the hippy movement (though this may not be an entirely representative sample!). If GGSTV! were to be made now, it could only be a student film, and it would be largely criticised for its naivety, probably accused of being self-indulgent. And for having some truly awful acting. But movies in general were different in 1969, and GGSTV! was certainly a pioneering film and seemingly quite sincere in its bleak world view. It feels in many ways more 'film' like than most movies today... the cinematography is all very photographic, and the way the interesting soundtrack is blended with the movie - definitely 'cinema as art'. I'm not going to suggest it's a great movie, but it is fascinating and provocative, and deeply bleak and depressing, so that might appeal to some .

Koji Wakamtsu's "Go,Go Second Time Virgin" is a classic pinku eiga film.Wakamatsu was raised to be a farmer but made his move to the big city and tried his hand at being a gangster and a convict before he found his true calling as Japan's most notorious experimental movie director,who made over 30 films between 1963 and 1974,many of them too raw and disturbing to be shown in theaters but acclaimed at fine-film festivals."Go,Go Second Time Virgin" tells the story of of Poppo(Mimi Kozakura),a young girl raped(for the second time in her young life)by a gang of street ruffians one August night in Tokyo.Left bleeding on a rooftop,she survives the night and meets Tsukio(Michio Akiyama),a fellow teenager with problems of his own.Together they explore the darker side of life and sex,with Poppo's suicidal obsessions matching similar threads in Tsukio's unsuccessfully published book of poetry.The joy they find in each other inflames their rage at the unjust world around them,and their love engenders a tragic killing spree."Go,Go Second Time Virgin" is a beautifully shot film and the cinematography is brilliant.Most of the film is in gorgeous black-and-white,with a few tinted sequences and a full-color flashback to Tsukio's unfortunate orgy experience.So if you are a fan of Japanese art-house exploitation give this one a look.8 out of 10.

Ive seen alot of films from Japan and other countries. But this has got to be one of the most bizare,yet interesting films that has come out of japan in recent years. Its like a teen angst film gone awry. unlike American teen angst films were you just have a bunch of dialog and crying this one has action and visual imagery that follows the characters though out the whole film the combination of both color and black and white film is a rare treat indeed.

This is one of the weirdest and most unique films I've ever seen. It's artsploitation, and like most artsploitation, its art is questionable. In the end, though, I judged that it was more art than exploitation. Others, and probably the majority, would probably feel the opposite. A shy young man follows a group of men who are dragging a woman up to his apartment building's roof. He watches quietly as they rape her. When she awakes in the morning, she asks him to kill her, for she's too unhappy to live. We discover that he himself is suicidal, and that he harbors a deep curiosity and fear around sex, which has lead him to murder before. It does cross the line several times, especially with a series of photos of Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate, among which is a picture of Tate's corpse, but there's a lot of interest to grab onto. If nothing else, the stark black and white cinematography is gorgeous, and director Wakamatsu's use of music is masterful. A trip some will definitely want to take, while others, and you probably know it already, should avoid. The director later went on to produce Oshima's In the Realm of the Senses, which, while certainly a good film, is far less daring and compelling as Go Go Second Time Virgin. 9/10.