Modae / 悶え (‘Agony’, aka ‘The Night of the Honeymoon’, 1964)

Obscure Japanese Film #135

Ayako Wakao and Masaya Takahashi

Newlyweds Chieko (Ayako Wakao) and Ueda (Masaya Takahashi) head off to a hot spring inn in Hakone for their honeymoon, but the virginal Chieko is surprised when her husband avoids touching her on their wedding night and even more confused when this behaviour continues the following day. It transpires that Ueda is impotent as a result of a car accident, but his doctor has advised him that his condition may not be permanent and marriage may help. 

Kyoko Enami and Ayako Wakao

 

Meanwhile, Chieko bumps into an old high school friend, the sexually-liberated Michiko (Kyoko Enami), who happens to be staying at the same hotel (unlikely coincidence #1) with a group of hedonistic friends, one of whom, Ishikawa (Yusuke Kawazu), immediately starts flirting with her. Later, Chieko is with her husband when she again runs into Ishikawa, who it turns out works in the same office as Ueda as an underling (unlikely coincidence #2).

Yusuke Kawazu

 

Next, Ishikawa’s aunt, Mrs Shiraki (Murasaki Fujima), turns up looking for him. She has her own beauty salon and appears to regard Ishikawa as more than a mere nephew, but he continues to be more interested in Chieko despite the fact that she’s married to his boss. However, Chieko continues trying to help her husband overcome his problem, but every he tries to get it on with her, they are subjected to dramatic music, red lighting and images of swirling paint…

 

Based on a 1960 novel by Taiko Hirabayashi entitled Ao to kanashimi no toki (‘Time of Love and Sadness’), this slightly batty psycho-sexual drama from Daiei proves to be quite enjoyable, if only for the fact that it’s not formulaic or predictable, and you never quite know where it’s going to go. The performances are also good, with Murasaki Fujima making the most out of her minor role, as does Jun Tatara as a wheedling doctor in dark glasses claiming to have the couple’s best interests at heart, but seeming to have another agenda. 

 

Murasaki Fujima

Jun Tatara

 

However, I felt that Masaya Takahashi lacked a bit of presence as Ueda and the film might have been more interesting with the more masculine Jiro Tamiya in the role. Of course, Ayako Wakao is excellent, although her role is a bit too typical of the parts she was being given at the time and must have presented little challenge. Director Umetsugu Inoue was averaging 5-6 films a year at this point, and there’s nothing to suggest he took any special pains over this one, but it’s at least better than the recently-reviewed Bury Me Deep.

Thanks to A.K., and to Coral Sundy for the subtitles, which can be found here.