The disdainful reviews meted out to [Ai no borei (Empire of Passion)] are surely related to the film's gravity of expression, by comparison with the sex and violence of Ai no corrida [In the Realm of the Senses]. Oshima has moved further back in time (the earlier film took place in the Thirties) to a Nineteenth-century setting…. But the dictates of Japanese formalism where period works are concerned have not inhibited Oshima's sense of outrage. There is a fury that burns like a bright diamond at the heart of Ai no borei, and Seki and Toyoji live passionately to their last gasp. As Oshima says, in their reluctance to rebel, there dwells a curious strength.

These lovers are unhinged by the ghost of the man they have conspired to kill, and Oshima [creates] an oneiric atmosphere, in which dream and actuality merge. He introduces an element of surrealism...