Mako Midori Movies

Satori is the name of the demon in this Japanese film. Ironically, it's name sounds the same as the word used for enlightenment experiences in the Zen tradition. Even more ironically, the demon strikes at people who are in a state devoid of thought or feeling. This is ironic because many people mistakenly believe that such a state is the goal of Zen practice. In the story, a psychotherapist suffers from the onslaughts of the demon, and its influence spreads from him to a couple who grow increasingly uninhibited. The demon's influence spreads until it encompasses even the covert fascist organizations believed to exist in '70s Japan. This also is ironic because in Japan, Zen Buddhism is practiced only by a small, often aristocratic minority: some left-wing Japanese assume that many of its practitioners are fascists. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

This sick and depraved scenario begins when a blind sculptor and his mother kidnap a young woman and use her as a model. In the darkness of an abandoned warehouse, she suffers at the hands of the artist. Giving in to find an avenue of escape, she becomes caught up in a series of sadomasochistic games. After she eventually loses her sight and her mind, the sexual games become even rougher. Whips are replaced with knives, which give way to meat cleavers, as the demented girl begs to have her arms and legs cut off. The girl ends up cut down to size after the mother dies over a battle with her son. He contemplates suicide when he realizes the girl can no longer give him a hand in this macabre tale that gives new meaning to the expression "tortured artist." ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

After students prankishly steal the clothes of two people swimming nude in the ocean, the swimmers return to land and wander around au naturel. They are assumed to be Korean illegal immigrants, and are chased and hounded. This comedy takes a rare look at Japanese racism. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi