I would say acting is fine and camera work is fine and everything but....I just do not really feel that the situation that is set up in the start is fully used. There could have been so many situations that could have been set up to make it more interesting.After the set up of the plot in the movie I found it very easy to see how the movie would end and I did not not really find the travel to the end emotional interesting or exploring in any way.I would say there are lots of great Japanese movies out there. You can find better than this one.

There are too many flaws, and Dumbest Possible Action tropes, for Pleasures Of The Flesh to broach greatness, but there are superb moments right next to bad. As example, while the forthrightness of the admission by Hayami is not believable, character-wise, it is one of the bleakest and most searing indictments of the human character ever put on film; and part of that burn comes from the fact that its ascription of human flaws is dead on. And in this it has a far more realistic take on human evil than Crime And Punishment. While a good portion of the film has dated, in terms of conventions of dress and sexual mores, at the gut, human level, the film is till searingly accurate, much like the best episodes of The Twilight Zone. That, plus its many positive qualities, makes this an important film, if not a great one. And that's more than enough to recommend its being watched and, hopefully, understood.

A school teacher is blackmailed by a corrupt politician after he is seen committing a murder. The corrupt politician demands that the teacher watch his suitcase stuffed with 30 million yen while he spends a year in prison. Probably not a good idea on the politician's part. You see, the teacher committed the murder to protect a former student with whom he was deeply smitten. But afterward, she got married and vanished from his life. Now he has nothing to live for and decides that he'll spend every penny of that suitcase money on sex and debauchery, and then kill himself afterward. While the DVD box and insert claim this to be a pinku film, it's not at all. It's not in the least bit erotic. It may be sleazy, but not in any fun way. It's a depressing art-house drama, really. I thought the set-up of the plot was kind of ridiculous (the teacher and politician are complete strangers; the teacher could have easily used the money to run away and start a new life. And even if the politician could convince the cops that the teacher committed the murder, it'd be pretty much impossible to prove one year later, wouldn't it? It's just not a good set up for blackmail), but the main plot is definitely interesting. The film is well made and looks gorgeous. The colors on the Eclipse DVD are really beautiful.

What looks first like a thriller (after the murder of a man who raped one of his students, a young teacher finds himself blackmailed into hiding a huge some of money) turns into an exploration of greed and sexual exploitation by one of the less politically correct Japanese directors, Nagisa Oshima, as the hero succumbs to his baser impulses and decides to spend the money on indulging his every (often sensual) impulse - planning to commit suicide when the cash runs out. "Pleasures of the Flesh" sees Oshima first embrace of the themes of sexuality, sadism and obsession that characterize his later works. I see "Pleasures of the Flesh" as the turning point in Oshima's career, a cross between his early films, like "The Sun's Burial" or "A Cruel Story of Youth" with young criminals who exploit each other for money and enact transgressive fantasies, or "Night and Fog in Japan" with its political plot, and later films, like the famous "Realm of the Senses", and their sadomasochist tales of sex and death. Oshima is obviously already at work pushing the limits of what can be shown on screen and what can be said on the power of sex and money, on the perversion of love and capitalism. It is one of the most pessimistic works from the director. Everything is corrupt : the young girl the hero falls for (and kills for) proves to be not so innocent in the end, sex (which is a way to humiliate people), love (which only leads to frustration and guilt), money (a delusion), society (dominating and repressive). As "Pleasures of the Flesh" seems to embody most of Oshima's favorite themes, I would recommend it, but don't expect a "likeable" film with "likeable" characters. But after all, this is all too typical of Oshima's manner ! Has he ever filmed romantic stories and sweet people ?