Empire of Passion (Ai no borei) (In the Realm of Passion) (1978)

64% of users liked it
(858 ratings)

Also known as Phantom Love, the French/Japanese co-production L'Empire de la Passion follows famed Japanese director Nagisa Oshima's multinational production, the chilling and erotic In the Realm of the Senses, which was banned in several countries and was disqualified from appearing at the Cannes… More Also known as Phantom Love, the French/Japanese co-production L'Empire de la Passion follows famed Japanese director Nagisa Oshima's multinational production, the chilling and erotic In the Realm of the Senses, which was banned in several countries and was disqualified from appearing at the Cannes Film Festival. This straightforward Japanese murder-mystery and ghost story, unlike that previous movie, does not focus on eroticism but concerns the aftermath of passion and the fruits of crime. In the story, based on an 1895 incident in rural Japan, Seki (Kazuko Yoshiyuki), a beautiful peasant woman, and her young lover Toyoji (Tatsuya Fuji), conspire to murder her husband when their erotic games get out of hand. After getting the husband drunk, the two lovers kill him and throw his body down an abandoned well, claiming that he has gone to do business in Tokyo. In order to avoid suspicion, the two only see each other seldom. In the meantime, Seki begins seeing visions of her husband, and her grown stepdaughter has dreams of him. Guilt consumes both of them, and their nemesis, in the form of a bumbling police inspector sent to investigate an unrelated murder, pursues them. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 50 min.
Directed By: Nagisa Oshima
Genres: Drama, Horror, Art House & International

In Theaters: Sep 6, 1978 Wide
On DVD: Apr 28, 2009
Studio: Barbary Coast

No Critic Reviews Found…

Featured Audience Ratings

Stella D

a noirish folktale with horror elements, much less explicit than it's notorious companion piece, in the realm of the senses. beautiful cinematography, especially the snow scenes. the story owes alot to the various postman incarnations. if i may say so, the rape scene almost… More
a noirish folktale with horror elements, much less explicit than it's notorious companion piece, in the realm of the senses. beautiful cinematography, especially the snow scenes. the story owes alot to the various postman incarnations. if i may say so, the rape scene almost put me off the film. it seems more misogynist than anything in realm of the senses
Stephen M

Can we have some sensible reviews of this film, please. An average star-rating of 3 is ridiculous for this near-masterpiece. "Empire of Passion" is a loose companion piece to Nagisa Oshima's notorious "In the Realm of the Senses". Though Tatsuya Fuji plays the… More
Can we have some sensible reviews of this film, please. An average star-rating of 3 is ridiculous for this near-masterpiece. "Empire of Passion" is a loose companion piece to Nagisa Oshima's notorious "In the Realm of the Senses". Though Tatsuya Fuji plays the male lead once more, and the story again concerns a couple driven to violence by their obsessive lust, "Empire of Passion" is less intense than the earlier film and its tone is much lighter, allowing for a healthy dose of comedy. Set in late 19th century rural Japan, it's a ghost story about a rickshaw puller, murdered by his wife and her lover, who returns from the dead and haunts his killers to the point of self-incrimination. Whereas "In the Realm of the Senses" was mostly set indoors, this exquisitely photographed film is opened out into the beautiful countryside, the passage of time mapped by the changing seasons. Curiously the frequent softcore sex scenes feel gratuitous and exploitative in a way that their hardcore equivalent in "...Senses" never did, and it's for this reason I've deducted a half-star.
El Hombre I

Empire of Passion isn't a very fast paced film. The first two acts dragged for a while, leaving me almost uninterested in how the film was going to wrap up, which was in a predictable way. The last act of the film shifts gears adding a handful of creepy visuals that won't… More
Empire of Passion isn't a very fast paced film. The first two acts dragged for a while, leaving me almost uninterested in how the film was going to wrap up, which was in a predictable way. The last act of the film shifts gears adding a handful of creepy visuals that won't make you jump out of your seat, but will probably make you shudder. It certainly helps that Oshima was a director with an eye for composing one striking scene after another. An old wive's tale, that's all too familiar, presented in cinematography that deserves its praise. Empire of Passion's technical aspects are a treat, but the storytelling could've used a second treatment. <a href="http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/?action=view¤t=empireofpassion.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/empireofpassion.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Eric B

"In the Realm of Passion" is somewhat of a sheep in wolf's clothing. Titled to suggest a sequel to the controversial "In the Realm of the Senses," "Passion" has little of the daring frankness which Nagisa Oshima fans might… More
"In the Realm of Passion" is somewhat of a sheep in wolf's clothing. Titled to suggest a sequel to the controversial "In the Realm of the Senses," "Passion" has little of the daring frankness which Nagisa Oshima fans might crave. Until some unsettling violence in the conclusion finally inserts some shock value, this is a surprisingly traditional ghost story. Really, it's not far from something Akira Kurosawa might have directed -- though Kurosawa's version would have a better score and more eloquent use of smoke and snow.The setting is a small Japanese village in 1895. Seki is married to Gisaburo, a rickshaw driver who works long hours. She begins an affair with Toyoji, a dashing, much younger man. After her lover -- a fan of giving oral sex -- urges her to shave her groin and then performs the deed himself (none of these scenes are explicit), he declares Gisaburo must be murdered because he'll otherwise see the shorn area and develop suspicions. After getting him drunk, Seki and Toyoji strangle him and dump his body down a derelict well.The two hardly benefit from the crime, since they still have to hide their affair from the neighbors. And soon enough, Gisaburo's eerie ghost begins materializing. He is very much a Shakespearean apparition -- the character simply adds reddened eyes and a ghoulishly painted face, and then solemnly enters scenes to remind the living of their guilt. (A howling village idiot with hidden understanding also seems archetypal of the genre, while another familiar persona -- a daughter with clairvoyant dreams -- is frustratingly underused.)Once snide mutterings increase amongst the villagers and an inspector begins prying into Gisaburo's disappearance, we know Seki and Toyoji are doomed. She wrestles with remorse, while he succumbs to an unconscious ritual not unlike Lady Macbeth's tortured hand-washing. Strangely, the film supplies a perfect resolution to their agony with about 10 minutes to go, then backs off and attaches a much less poetic end.The imagery is visually lovely -- the costumes, quaint dwellings and nature scenes are full of rich, earthy color. It's just that much of the film seems a bit conservative, coming from a director whose earlier work could be so raw and brutal.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]Nagisa Oshima's "In the Realm of Passion" takes place in a Japanese village in 1895. Seki(Kazuko Yoshiyuki) is married to Gisaburo(Takuhiro Tamura), a rickshaw driver. She begins a tumultuous affair with Toyoji(Tatsuya Fuji) who just got out of… More
[font=Century Gothic]Nagisa Oshima's "In the Realm of Passion" takes place in a Japanese village in 1895. Seki(Kazuko Yoshiyuki) is married to Gisaburo(Takuhiro Tamura), a rickshaw driver. She begins a tumultuous affair with Toyoji(Tatsuya Fuji) who just got out of the army and is 20 years her junior. After Toyoji blackmails her with the most unique scenario I've ever seen, she agrees to kill her husband with him. They succeed and dump Gisaburo's body in a well. The story recommences three years later...[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]"In the Realm of Passion" starts promisingly but the movie, by trying to be atmospheric, just succeeds in being murky. This is not as explicit as Oshima's "In the Realm of the Senses", thus showing much needed subtlety and self-control.[/font]