R100 (2013)

Dir: Hitoshi Matsumoto

Middle aged Takafumi Katayama (Nao Omori) sits in a restaurant with an attractive woman drinking coffee. He rambles on about the gorgeousness and gorgeousity of the fourth movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. The woman stands up and kicks him in the face, full force.

Yeah, I'd let her kick me down some stairs as well

Retail Salesman Takafumi, who's wife is in a coma and he must raise their son with help from the father in law, is feeling the pangs of an ordinary existence. Hoping to alleviate his suffering he joins a unique  bondage club. Membership is for one year and the contract cannot be cancelled. The service they provide is that women dressed in leather will attack Takafumi. They will smash his food as he tries to eat at a sushi bar. They will punch him. Whip him. Kick him. Nearly drown him. You probably don't want to know what the Saliva Queen does when it is her turn to service Takafumi.

The thing is that Takafumi has a mind blowing orgasm after each session. It's not until the attacks start to include his son and take place at work that Takafumi thinks there could be anything wrong.

In the throes of a climax

Interspersed throughout the film are short scenes of a small group of people who are watching the film at the same time as the viewer. They are befuddled as to what the film means (but they do offer up an explanation of the film's title). I'm not sure why the film is stopped and they trumble out of the theatre into a waiting room from time to time but then I'm not sure of anything about this film. Like the viewers in the film, I'm befuddled as to what is going on and what, if anything, it all means. Allegedly a comedy, the shtick of Takafumi being attacked grows wearisome and I lost interest in seeing what became of him. I did stick it out and the climatic ending and denouement are just as confusing as the rest of the film.

Director Hitoshi Matsumoto also helmed the mockumentary BIG MAN JAPAN about a man who grows to an enormous size and battles giant monsters. That quirky film at least had some jokes that worked and a world logic I could follow.

Make certain to have a safe word before starting watching this film.

*1/2 out of ****


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