If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Gripping story with well-crafted characters

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

... and I know nothing about Japan or Japanese cinema. I just accidentally tuned in to this one close to its beginning at 4AM, expecting to be bored. Instead it discreetly pulled me in by its not so discreet plot and acting.The synopsis says that it is about a younger man having an affair with an older woman. However, the woman (Seki) does not look to be that much older than the young man, Toyoji. Seki's husband is a rather dull rickshaw driver, and Toyoji's giving Seki the romantic attention that her husband Gisaburo does not. However Gisaburo loves Seki, just in his own understated way. Where things get a little strange is in Toyoji's point of view. First he insists on "shaving" Seki, then he insists that because he has done this Gisaburo will know about the affair and they must therefore murder Gisaburo. Seki, just as passive as her husband, agrees and together they strangle Gisaburo and throw him down an old well. Here's where things get even stranger, from a human nature standpoint - everyone in the community just accepts the fact that Gisaburo left town and does not come back - for three years. The only thing that arouses their suspicion is, after a three year absence, his ghost starts appearing to the townspeople asking for this and that - saying that he wants his pipe, new clothes etc. since he hasn't had any for so long. Odd that dreams arouse their suspicion when the hard evidence of a man you could set your watch by disappearing in thin air does not.Then Seki starts seeing Ginsburo's ghost. Ginsburo's ghost is corporal though - he can and does pull his rickshaw around, drink, and smoke just as he did in life. The one person the ghost does not appear to is Toyoji, so as Seki slowly starts to emotionally unravel, Toyoji just thinks its guilt and panic eating at her and is not very sympathetic towards her.Finally there is the brutality of the police that is quite a shock. The detective investigating Ginsburo's disappearance keeps telling the townspeople that he can't arrest anyone without proof, but when he does the accepted protocol of interrogation is to hang the suspect by a tree in public and cane them until they confess. Why bother with an investigation if torture is the next step after an arrest? You could get a confession out of anybody this way.The whole thing has a very surreal quality, a story with universal themes but some odd behavior I just chalk up either to directorial style or cultural differences or maybe both, and some beautiful shots of the Japanese countryside, which is sometimes easily overlooked in the face of this very strange but engaging tale.

The very premise of this film was icky and turned me off completely. This isn't 100% surprising, as the director (Nagisa Ôshima) had a reputation for pushing the boundaries of taste and propriety. And, I really doubt he could have gotten away with making a film like this in the States. That's because the film shows a lecherous man raping a married older woman--and she LIKES it and becomes hopelessly devoted to him. And a bit later, when he suggests they murder her husband, she goes along with it and helps her lover strangle the poor guy! All this is very explicit (for a Japanese film this means lots of nudity but NEVER any crotch shots) and nasty.Although you might think the two would live happily ever after, this is not the case. The dead man was shoved into an old well--but his ghost haunts his wife throughout the film and even visits their daughter. And, she eventually loses her mind and only wishes to dies--even three years later. And, while the lover isn't quite as guilt-stricken, he's also a mess and the pair never have much chance to enjoy their new sordid lives--which I guess is trying to say that crime and evil doesn't pay.If you ignore the ickiness of the plot and how irresponsible it is, is it any good? Well, it's fair--neither great nor good. And, the viewer might wish to know that the rape myth is relatively common in Japanese films and anime--it's sure a different culture. I didn't particularly enjoy the experience.

This is a film by Oshima, the director of the notorious "In The Realm Of The Senses", a film so sexually brazed and unabashedly controversial it was banned for a while. This film takes place initially in 1895 in Japan and stars the very pretty Keziko Yoshiyuki as Seki, the wife of a rickshaw driver who falls for a much younger man who woos her in kind. That man, Toyoji, comes to her as she was sleeping and seduces her, though she soon is rather willing to be seduced. Soon they are having an affair and plot to kill Seki's husband, to be together forever. They do, and throw him down a well. However, they didn't count on the ghost of the dead husband haunting Seki and others in the village! This film is visually very stunning, the use of shadows highlighting this tale of murder for passion. Ms. Yoshiyuki (who is still active as an actress) is especially very good in her role. Its sexual at times, but not like "In The Realm Of The Senses". Some of what ensues is up to our imagination. I found this film to have a consistency of mood that makes it very watchable. A little creepy but that goes with the territory. I'd recommend this.

In 1895, in a small village in Japan, the wife of the litter carrier Gisaburo (Takahiro Tamura), Seki (Kazuko Yoshiyuki), has an affair with a man twenty-six years younger, Toyiji (Tatsuya Fuji). Toyiji becomes jealous of Gisaburo and plots with Seki to kill him. They strangle Gisaburo and dump his body inside a well in the woods, and Seki tells the locals that Gisaburo moved to Tokyo to work. Three years later, the locals gossip about the fate of Gisaburo, and Seki is haunted by his ghost. The situation becomes unbearable to Seki and Toyiji when a police authority comes to the village to investigate the disappearance of Gisaburo."Ai no Borei" is a surreal and supernatural love story. The remorse and the guilty complex of Seki make her see the ghost of her murdered husband, spoiling the perfect plot of her lover. The cinematography is jeopardized by the quality of the VHS released in Brazil, but there are very beautiful scenes, inclusive "Ringu" and the American remake "The Ring" use the view of the well from inside in the same angle. The performances and direction are excellent making "Ai no Borei" a great movie. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "O Império da Paixão" ("The Empire of Passion")