With Ryuhei Matsuda playing a featured role, I was constantly reminded of Oshima's Gohatto (Matsuda's debut film). In fact, I'm not so sure that this movie isn't a meditation on Gohatto, a sort of futuristic spiritual version. There are a lot of similarities, despite the completely different genres and storytelling techniques of the two films. Both take place in closed male societies, both have beautiful murderers, obsessive love, and mystery. And they both have Ryuhei Matsuda.
Gohatto is a more traditional film (compared to this one, anyway), and the symbolism is not so heavy-handed as it is here. There's no rocket ship or pyramid or all that those two things imply. There is an awful lot going on in this film, probably a little too much.
The mix of stage-play theatricality with cinematic realism is a little distracting, and it put me on guard against excessive artiness. And let's face it, there is excessive artiness. That's not to say the movie isn't beautiful to look at--it is.
And it's worth seeing. But if you haven't seen Gohatto, see it. Gohatto is to 46-Okunen No Koi as the velvet glove is to the sledgehammer.
