[Too much of a muchness is one of the problems] with In the Realm of the Senses, although that is only one trouble with Nagisa Oshima's dreadful movie….

[Oshima] has tried to tell a story about a man and a woman who love each other with such an insane passion that, as it becomes ever more fanatical and all-consuming, nothing will satisfy it except death. Well, why not? Such tales have been a staple of literature since narration began…. But Oshima set out to do something more difficult: to concentrate almost entirely on the two lovers, show their passion in constant closeup, as it were, and deal with the matter realistically, head on. A gallant conception, but one for which he is quite the wrong man, having neither the artistry nor the psychological insight. (p. 53)

It will not do, I think, to talk of cultural differences and the...