Directed by
Banmei Takahashi
Cast:
Sawa Suzuki …. Rei
Reiko Kataoka …. Ayumi
Aya Sugimoto …. Saeko
Hiromitsu Suzuki …. Doctor
Tomorowo Taguchi …. Man with a knife
Takashi Matsuo …. Journalist
Toshi Shioya …. Master
Going into New Love in Tokyo certain questions arise in the mind. Will this be a cynical look into the world of the dominatrix? Will it be filled with self-loathing and sadness? Will the girls actually hate themselves, taking it out on their clients as a way to get their frustrations out? Will the film feature a scene where two women frolic naked in the ocean while they’re watched by two men that are buried up to their heads on the beach?
Surprisingly, the answers to all of these questions is unequivocally no, except for the last one. New Love in Tokyo, is an unexpectedly sweet and comical film about the life of Rei (Sawa Suzuki), an actress who loves being in small plays and watering her garden of sunflowers. On the side, she’s also a dominatrix and absolutely loves it. Really, why wouldn’t she? She’s terrifically cruel at her job, and her clients are completely thankful for it. In an extended sequence, we even see her breaking a willful man in, as he doubts her powers of domination, until he’s crawling on all fours and licking her feet.
Not doing quite as well is Ayumi (Reiko Kataoka), a call girl that works in the same area. She’s saving up her money to get married and her fiancé is unaware of her profession, but soon she plans to retire and give up her life as a prostitute for what she thinks is real happiness. In the meantime, though, she must deal with the perverts and weirdoes while putting together her little nest egg.
What is great New Love in Tokyo is its tone. The movie keeps the entire experience light as it goes back and fourth with these two characters. Even Ayumi’s scenes are likeable, as there’s quite a bit of comedy in them, for the most part. The escort service she works for is unbelievably cheerful, as the girls sit around playing games until an order comes in for them to meet a John in a hotel room. Situations that would usually call for gravitas – such as one of the characters getting VD or a horrible cat fight – are played for laughs more that anything else.
The film’s main faults come in its narrative, as to some degree nothing really happens. The movie is just a look, or peep hole if you will, into the lives of these two women, but truly major events in their lives are few and far between. The movie is funny and light, but the movie goes too long before any true crisis in their lives pops up.
The Video
Not really bad, but not really great, the print on this disc is fine, but not spectacular. The film is presented in Anamorphic Widescreen with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1
The Audio
The audio on this disc is about the same quality. No real problems to report, though you may want some when the film goes into “90’s Japanese Pop” montage mode.
SPECIAL FEATURES: Trailers, Program notes, Image gallery
Trailers – You get trailers for this film and other Animego grindhouse titles.
Program notes
Image gallery
A good movie with a poor disc, New Love in Tokyo could have just been a sexy romp and instead ends up a light comedy with some real heart. Again, there isn’t much in the way of extras, but I’ve seen much worse discs.
