A blind sculptor Michio is fascinated by a beautiful body of a young model. On feeling a sculpture depicting her, he resolves to kidnap her with the assistance of his mother and imprison her in order to create a new type of sculpting relying only on touch. He succeeds in fulfilling his desire. Initially, the model is terrified and does not want to cooperate with the blind man. Notwithstanding, upon seeing his desperation, she agrees to stay, become his inspiration and even a lover so as to be capable of manipulating him and arranging her getaway.
Blind Beast (1969) is frequently ranked among the most disturbing flicks ever made which should not be astonishing. This is not only one of the most twisted films ever produced, but also one of the most bizarre works. The story tackles such issues as unbridled human sexuality and obsessive love which leads to sadomasochism, thus to self-destruction. The script could be spoilt in hands of an untalented filmmaker, but not in Masumura's, the director of masterful Red Angel (1966), it is polished to perfection. Masumura, despite his tendency of compounding violence in his movies in order to render tackled problems even more visible, is aware of the screenplay's perversity and is generally interested in exploring the subject instead of shocking. While some scenes might be made in a repugnant way, Masumura executes them totally bloodlessly and evades gore. Hence mise-en-scène is quite subtle and the ensuing waves of cruelty just implied, not explicitly exposed. However, this is not the only reason why the direction is so brilliant. With this flick Masumura proves that he is an extraordinarily imaginative artist. The scenography of the Michio's studio is ravishingly bewildering and mesmeric. To the walls are attached sculptures of various parts of female body – ears, breasts, eyes, noses, mouths, legs and arms which seem to be omnipresent. In addition to this, there are two huge, artificial figures of a naked man and woman. All this gives this location, in which practically the whole story takes place, an extremely outlandish, ghoulish appearance and an unpleasantly claustrophobic climax. Another aspect that makes the content more oneiric is the narration of the model who recounts those events from the perspective of time. It is also remarkable how Masumura's picture keeps one's attention to the very end, despite such an ascetic, staid action and only three characters at director's disposal.
The cast is quite decent, although it lacks any famous names to boast about. Eiji Funakoshi is pretty good as the sculptor, even though he seems to overact at times which isn't very disturbing though and these moments are few and far between. Mako Midori is very good as the charming model and probably gives the most impressive performance. Noriko Sengoku as the mother rather stays in the background, since her character is not that significant and feels more like a directional device to fill some plot holes and push the story further. Hikaru Hayashi's soundtrack mostly consists of some non-musical sounds in order to render the atmosphere more wicked and sleazy, while the minimalistic main theme is certainly pretty.
It is difficult to recommend it to anyone. This is rather a movie to watch alone. It will certainly leave more sensitive viewers exhausted and possibly disgusted. Nonetheless everyone is likely to agree with the statement that it is a one-of-a-kind flick, regardless of the fact whether one has enjoyed it or not. With regard to open-minded cinephiles, this will be an unforgettable ride. As far as I am concerned, it is an audacious work of art that successfully reveals all darker aspects of human sexuality and should be hailed for its eminent uniqueness.
Blind Beast (1969) is frequently ranked among the most disturbing flicks ever made which should not be astonishing. This is not only one of the most twisted films ever produced, but also one of the most bizarre works. The story tackles such issues as unbridled human sexuality and obsessive love which leads to sadomasochism, thus to self-destruction. The script could be spoilt in hands of an untalented filmmaker, but not in Masumura's, the director of masterful Red Angel (1966), it is polished to perfection. Masumura, despite his tendency of compounding violence in his movies in order to render tackled problems even more visible, is aware of the screenplay's perversity and is generally interested in exploring the subject instead of shocking. While some scenes might be made in a repugnant way, Masumura executes them totally bloodlessly and evades gore. Hence mise-en-scène is quite subtle and the ensuing waves of cruelty just implied, not explicitly exposed. However, this is not the only reason why the direction is so brilliant. With this flick Masumura proves that he is an extraordinarily imaginative artist. The scenography of the Michio's studio is ravishingly bewildering and mesmeric. To the walls are attached sculptures of various parts of female body – ears, breasts, eyes, noses, mouths, legs and arms which seem to be omnipresent. In addition to this, there are two huge, artificial figures of a naked man and woman. All this gives this location, in which practically the whole story takes place, an extremely outlandish, ghoulish appearance and an unpleasantly claustrophobic climax. Another aspect that makes the content more oneiric is the narration of the model who recounts those events from the perspective of time. It is also remarkable how Masumura's picture keeps one's attention to the very end, despite such an ascetic, staid action and only three characters at director's disposal.
The cast is quite decent, although it lacks any famous names to boast about. Eiji Funakoshi is pretty good as the sculptor, even though he seems to overact at times which isn't very disturbing though and these moments are few and far between. Mako Midori is very good as the charming model and probably gives the most impressive performance. Noriko Sengoku as the mother rather stays in the background, since her character is not that significant and feels more like a directional device to fill some plot holes and push the story further. Hikaru Hayashi's soundtrack mostly consists of some non-musical sounds in order to render the atmosphere more wicked and sleazy, while the minimalistic main theme is certainly pretty.
It is difficult to recommend it to anyone. This is rather a movie to watch alone. It will certainly leave more sensitive viewers exhausted and possibly disgusted. Nonetheless everyone is likely to agree with the statement that it is a one-of-a-kind flick, regardless of the fact whether one has enjoyed it or not. With regard to open-minded cinephiles, this will be an unforgettable ride. As far as I am concerned, it is an audacious work of art that successfully reveals all darker aspects of human sexuality and should be hailed for its eminent uniqueness.