Mariko Okada shows off her discreet charm in Yoshishige Yoshida’s steamy tale THE AFFAIR (© Shochiku Co., Ltd.)
THE AFFAIR (JOEN) (FLAMES OF LOVE) (Yoshishige Yoshida, 1967)
Japan Society
333 East 47th St. at First Ave.
Thursday, April 15, 7:30
212-715-1258
www.japansociety.org
“Mariko Okada: The Discreet Charm of the Adulteress,” the final section of the Japan Society’s three-part “Mad, Bad . . . & Dangerous to Know: Three Untamed Beauties” film series, begins on April 13 with a screening of Yoshishige Yoshida’s fifth collaboration with Okada and continues on April 14 with the fascinating erotic tale THE AFFAIR. In the latter, also known as FLAMES OF LOVE, Okada stars as Oriko, an unhappily married woman who wants a divorce from her cheating husband, Furuhata (Tadahiko Sugano). In a flashback, she shows her displeasure with her widowed mother (Yoshie Minami), who is carrying on a heated affair with young sculptor Mitsuhuru (Isao Kimura); in the current day, she seeks out the Noguchi-like artist to find out about his relationship with her now-dead mother but learns a lot more than she expected. Meanwhile, Furuhata’s sister, Yokio (Shigako Shimegi), tries to get the traditional, old-fashioned Oriko out of the house and partying with her three male friends, who smoke cigarettes, drink beer, and break out in sudden groovy dances at the spur of the moment. But when Oriko—who still wears kimonos and worries about what is considered proper in a society that is changing drastically all around her—spies on Yokio having hot, casual sex with a common worker (KILL!’s Etsushi Takahashi in his film debut), her own hidden sexuality is awakened. Yoshida, who trained at Shochiku under Nagisa Oshima (CREUL STORY OF YOUTH, IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES), incorporates Bergmanesque touches with a Nouvelle Vague sensibility and more than a hint of Teshigahara (WOMAN IN THE DUNES) in this strikingly visual, highly stylized tale, including sweeping, dreamlike flashbacks, gorgeous long shots, and a haunting theme of duality evident in his use of mirrors and windows, light and dark. “Mad, Bad . . . & Dangerous to Know” concludes on April 18 with Yoshida’s WOMAN OF THE LAKE (ONNA NO MIZUUMI) and Yasuzo Masumura’s highly charged TWO WIVES (TSUMA FUTARI), which has never before been screened outside of Japan.