I checked this film out because I discovered it was written by one of Japan's most controversial writers, Ryu Murakami, who wrote the novel that Takashi Miike's AUDITION was based on. Murakami not only wrote the book of TOKYO DECADENCE, but he also adapted it for the screen and directed this adaptation to boot.

Unfortunately, this turns out to be a near unwatchable bore, a film I could barely stand to sit through thanks to the subject matter. TOKYO DECADENCE explores the world of S&M and in particular the life of a submissive prostitute who's treated cruelly by her clients. Sadly, the experiences she undergoes sees her gradually losing her mind, building to a narrative climax of sorts.

95% of this film is made up of near-pornographic fetish scenes of women being forced to undergo weird and humiliating sexual experiences. The acting is non-existent and the characterisation barely there; instead, Murakami seems to enjoy just wallowing in the sleaze and the degradation of women. Not my cup of tea at all, I'm afraid; a few atmospheric shots of the Tokyo skyline and the occasional scene of plotting fail to make this anywhere close to becoming a 'proper' film.

In Tokyo, the hooker Ai (Miho Nikaido) works in an escort agency specialized in perversions and kinky sex. Ai is submissive to her clients and accepts to be humiliated, to perform sadomasochism and bondage and threesome. However she is unhappy with her life for some reason.

The Brazilian VHS of "Topâzu", a.k.a. "Tokyo Decadence" is a soft-porn labeled Erotic-Thriller. There are many scenes of Miho Nikaido performing kinky sex with her clients and basically that is all. Her unrequited love was edited from this 92 minutes version where the fortuneteller instructions are senseless. It is hard to understand why the producers allow this procedure. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Tokio em Decadência" ("Tokyo in Decadence")

"Ai" (Miho Nikaido) is a 22-year old is a 22-year old prostitute who makes a living in the S&M market in which anything goes. For example, in the first scene she is bound, gagged and blindfolded while her client injects a hallucinogenic drug of some sort into her bare leg. What happens next is somewhat unclear and like the rest of the film is left for the viewer to figure out. Other scenes involve similar kinds of deviant sexual practices in which she is sometimes the receiver of punishment and other times the giver--but in all cases it is quite apparent that she doesn't relish either role. As a matter of fact, she tells one of her clients named "Mr. Ishioka" (Tenmei Kano) that she doesn't believe she is good at anything. This lack of self-confidence permeates her persona and causes her to lead a life in which she is always a victim. At least, that is how it seemed to me. Likewise, I believe this film also suggests that a large proportion of the men in Japan feel similarly humiliated in the eyes of the rest of the world possibly due to their conduct during World War 2. Hence the reason that the characters act in such a manner. Now having said that I must admit that my interpretation of this film might be incorrect and others may have discovered a completely different meaning. Or perhaps the film consists of nothing more than one repulsive scene after another and has no real meaning at all. In any case, I felt that almost all of the scenes were unnecessarily vulgar and obscene and wonder if perhaps the director (Ryû Murakami) lacked the ability to present his underlying theme any other way. Regardless, I found the movie to be rather long and boring and I have rated it accordingly. Below average.