Rokugatsu no hebi (2002)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Shinya Tsukamoto

Writer:

Shinya Tsukamoto (writer)

Release Date:

13 June 2003 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

Issho ni, jigoku ni ikimashô

Plot:

A man and woman fall into an erotic nightmare when they are stalked by a disturbed man.

Plot Keywords:

Photograph | Cancer | Cult Favorite | Counsellor | Vibrator

Awards:

5 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Asuka Kurosawa	...	Rinko Tatsumi
Yuji Kohtari	...	Shigehiko (as Yuji Koutari)
Shinya Tsukamoto	...	Iguchi
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mansaku Fuwa
Tomoko Matsumoto
Shûji Ôtsuki
Ikko Suzuki
Tomorowo Taguchi
Susumu Terajima
Masato Tsujioka

Directed by
Shinya Tsukamoto

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Shinya Tsukamoto		writer

Produced by
Shin-Ichi Kawahara	....	associate producer
Shinya Tsukamoto	....	producer

Original Music by
Chu Ishikawa

Cinematography by
Shinya Tsukamoto

Film Editing by
Shinya Tsukamoto

Production Design by
Shinya Tsukamoto

Costume Design by
Hiroko Iwasaki

Makeup Department
Takashi Oda	....	special makeup effects artist

Special Effects by
Takashi Oda	....	dummy effects

Production Companies

• Kaijyu Theater

Distributors

• Rapid Eye Movies (2004) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Revolver Film (????) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Tartan (2003) (UK) (theatrical)
• Filmfreak Distributie (2004) (Netherlands) (all media)
• Mondo Home Entertainment (2004) (Italy) (DVD)
• Palisades Tartan (2002) (USA) (all media)
• Starmedia Home Entertainment (????) (Germany) (DVD)
• TLA Releasing (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Tartan Video USA (2006) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Tartan Video USA (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Tartan Video (2004) (UK) (DVD)
• There's Enterprise (????) (Japan) (VHS)

Also Known As:

A Snake of June (Canada: English title) (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality, nudity and some violence.

Runtime:

77 min | Canada:77 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:R21 | Germany:16 | Italy:VM14 | South Korea:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | Netherlands:16

Company:

Kaijyu Theater

Life Is to Be Lived in Its Plenitude

In Tokyo, Rinko Tatsumi (Asuka Kurosawa) is a married woman that works in the County Mental Help Center helping needy people. Her husband Shigehiko (Yuji Koutari) is an old man obsessed with cleaning and they have a quite inexistent sexual life, sleeping in separate bed. Out of the blue, Rinko receives an envelope with erotic pictures she took once in the past while modeling and a cellular. She receives a phone call and the man blackmails her, promising to give the negatives to her if she follows his instructions. She is forced to wear miniskirt without panties; to buy a vibrator and use it, walking and exposing to costumers of a department store. The man delivers her photos and tells that he is Iguchi (Shinya Tsukamoto), who is dying of stomach cancer that was saved by her advice; in return he asks her to go to her doctor. Rinko realizes that she has breast cancer and needs to remove one breast. When she tells Shigehiko, he gives a cold reception to the idea. Then the blackmailer contacts Shigehiko, forcing him to follow his instructions.

"Rokugatsu no Hebi", a.k.a. "A Snake of June", is a surrealistic erotic movie that follows the style of David Lynch, with bizarre sequences and characters. This is the first work of the director Shinya Tsukamoto that I have watched and this is the type of "love or hate" cult-movie. The stylish cinematography uses blue filter in the rainy season of Tokyo, giving the mood of sadness and nightmarish atmosphere to the weird story. Asuka Kurosawa is absolutely sexy breathing eroticism in the sequences that she follows the instructions of the blackmailer. There are many metaphoric scenes without explanation, but I believe that the major idea of the story is that life is to be lived in its plenitude since we may die on the next minute of our existence. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): Not Available