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The Glamorous Life of Sachiko HanaiDirected by Mitsuru Meike, 2003 By Alyce Wilson A political sex film would be the best way to describe The Glamorous Life. Young director Mitsuru Meike started with a typical Japanese "pink film", or soft porn movie. After releasing an hour-long version concentrating on the sex scenes, he expanded the movie into a full-length feature, including plenty of political commentary. The film follows Sachiko Hanai, a prostitute whose fate changes when she's shot during a yakuza skirmish in a restaurant. What should have been a mortal head wound, however, instead opens a new world for Sachiko, releasing untapped potential and turning her into a genius. As she stumbles, dazed and confused but intellectually curious, into the world, she engages in both sexual and conversational interactions with those she meets. Along the way, she happens across a political plot worthy of Cold War days, involving a mysterious silver tube she acquires on her way out of the restaurant. Though there were plenty of sex scenes, they weren't what most would
consider erotic. Instead, they're often humorous, as the actors engage
in philosophical and political debates. One running joke features a
professor who is turned on as much by her mind as her body. As he sheepishly
admits to her, his wife never discusses Noam Chomsky or Susan Sontag
with him. The film is clearly low budget, as evidenced by the uneven sound and the special effects which make Plan 9 from Outer Space look like a cinematic masterpiece. But the ideas were presumably more important to this neophyte director than the presentation.
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