Moonlight Whispers

Gekkõ no sasayaki it's one of those films that could have only come from Japan. It's a psycho-sexual drama about two young teenagers who start dating. Their relationship begins innocently enough but when Satsuki(girl) learns that Takuya (boy) is into sadomasochism she labels him as pervert and leaves him. However, Takuya keeps pursuing Satsuki and as time passes by, Satsuki is drawn back by the power Takuya's fetishes give her over him.

This is definitely one of those subjects that Hollywood wouldn't try to tackle, at least not with the subtlety that is so often seen in Asian films. And don't take me wrong, it's subtle but it's also extremely powerful. it's just that everything arises from character development and interaction and not from gimmicks.

The plot is well thought out and the acting was pretty good. I just wish the director had explored Takuya's reasons and motives a little more and also a bit more focus on Satsuki's inner conflict (Her enjoying the s&m games but at the same time feeling it's wrong). Still, it's a good film and probably worth checking if you like Asian cinema.

7/10

As one for years who has repressed my feelings about certain fetishes, this movie was truly liberating. I admire how the director treats the subject so maturely and the manner in which the young woman confronts her boyfriend's desire to "be her dog". For those of you that actively participate in certain fetish lifestyles, this movie is a can't-miss. And for those of you who don't, you will enjoy the complex relationship between the young man and woman and the manner in which they learn to hurdle the obstacles that stand in the way of their love.

BDSM is not just about dragon women in black leather cracking whips and the men who willingly submit. This movie truly captures the subtleties of BDSM and explores deep into the psychology of the characters to find out why they desire to act out their fantasies in such an uncommon manner. Enjoy.

In Moonlight Whispers, the first film by Akihiko Shiota (Don't Look Back, Harmful Insect), a young Japanese student Hidaka Takuya (Kenji Mizuhashi) will do anything to prove his love for Kendo partner Kitihara Satsuki (Tsugumi). This includes licking the sweat off of her feet, listening to her having sex with a friend, and even jumping over a waterfall. Based on a manga (Japanese comic book) by Masahiko Kikumi, the film is not about kinky sex but about adolescents involved in a love so deep it completely distorts their sense of perspective. Shiota's wry observational camera captures a marginal but valid aspect of the adolescent experience as profoundly as Van Sant's Elephant captured the high school milieu that led to guns and violence.

Takuya and Satsuki are shy students at the same high school and belong to the Kendo club (a sport involving two single combatants who wear padded gear, then try to beat each other with either end of a padded stick). Satsuki is a top player and a most sought-after companion. Backed by the soft guitar melodies of Shinsuke Honda, the two friends begin dating and everything seems normal until she discovers that he is more interested in sniffing her underwear, photographing articles of her clothing, and making audio tapes of her going to the bathroom than in having sex. When Takuya puts a twist on the meaning of "puppy love" and tells her he wants to be like her obedient dog, she calls him a pervert and begins spending more time with another classmate, Uematsu Tadashi (Kusano Kitahara).

With a fast turnaround that seems a bit out of character, Satsuki soon discovers that she finds pleasure in playing the dominating role and begins ordering the compliant Takuya around, asking him to do more and more outlandish things. The two feed off of each other, however, and continue a relationship of domination and submission with Takuya willing to go to degrading lengths to gain Satsuki's approval. In recent years, a number of theorists have suggested that sadomasochism can be a healthy form of sexual arousal among consenting individuals. While there may be a core of truth to this, this film is not a good example. There is a strong element of self-destruction and lack of self-respect in the behavior of the two lovers and Satsuki admits she has thought of suicide.

Although I'm not sure what the director had in mind in making this film, Moonlight Whispers touched me deeply and, even when I was repulsed by the behavior of the characters, I felt a deep compassion for their pain. There is no trace of exploitation in Shiota's film and, while mental health experts might frown, the relationship feels organic to the characters and not pathological. The director makes no judgments, showing only the lengths people with low self-esteem will go to feel wanted and needed. I was reminded of the words of author Georges Bernanos when he wrote, "How easy it is to hate oneself. True grace is to forget. Yet if pride could die in us, the supreme grace would be to love oneself in all simplicity". What this brilliant and disturbing film says to me more than anything else is that we cannot truly love another human being unless we learn to love ourselves.

In it's simplest form this movie is about a boy and a girl who fall in love.

While that could make a good movie this one throws in a realistic problem. The boy gets off on masochism. While many viewers may find this scary it is a realistic and common fetish. I for one thinks it is quite exciting.

But as erotic as some people might find it that's not what the movie deals with. It deals with the psychological impact of that realization.

The girl does not know how to handle that aspect of the relationship and the boy finds himself 'desturbed and perverted' Problems arise and both try to come to terms with the situation in different ways.

Whitout going too much of the story away I want to make clear this is NOT a pornographic movie. It tries to address certain more exotic aspects of sexuality in a normal, non-judgmental way. It shows us what could happen in a relationship when one or both parties has a fetish. It also shows us that having a fetish does not mean that the love for one-another is different than any other relationship. Just the way someone expresses it or experiences it is different.

All in all a very honest and heartwarming movie.

this film left me reeling. A simple enough film, it draws the viewer deeper and deeper into a Japanese schoolboy's masochistic obssession and the slow steady conversion of a girl into the sadistic mistress that he needs.Yet the film is not about sex or lust. It is about a passion so deep that it defines one's being. The boy is blessed with that rare honesty - he will not deny himself his passion. He risks exposure, humiliation, hatred, and worst of all, the loss of the one he loves, just to live his way. It makes one feel inadequate when one considers how much we willingly censor our own desires and passions just to 'fit in'. There are moments of exquisite pain in this film, when you can hear hearts shattering, and from these come some of the film's most beautiful moments as well. His seemingly endless devotion to her, her traumatic attempt to rationalize his desire - these are extremes that perhaps each of us have tasted to a lesser degree at some point in our lives. Here, watch them played out to the maximum. If his love is to be called perverse, then let it be so, for maybe love is too great to be normal, to intense to be sane. Performances are riveting from the two leads. Sensitive, sharp and burning with unspoken emotion. The two are infinitely desirable because they are so passionate, so afire. Sensuality and sexuality are redefined, and if you are neither sadistic or masochistic at the start of the film, you will long to be one or the other, or maybe both, by the end.