Hebi ni piasu (Snakes and Earrings) (2008)

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A seemingly straight-laced woman takes a walk on the wild side of both body and mind in this offbeat drama from Japanese filmmaker Yukio Ninagawa. Lui (Yuriko Yoshitaka) is a reserved young woman who goes out to a nightclub one evening and meets Ama (Kengo Kora), a punk rocker with extensive… More A seemingly straight-laced woman takes a walk on the wild side of both body and mind in this offbeat drama from Japanese filmmaker Yukio Ninagawa. Lui (Yuriko Yoshitaka) is a reserved young woman who goes out to a nightclub one evening and meets Ama (Kengo Kora), a punk rocker with extensive tattoos, piercings and a split tongue that resembles that of a snake. Lui is fascinated by Ama and ends up spending the night with him; soon they are a couple and Lui becomes intensely curious about body modification, and in particular wants to have her tongue split like Ama's. When Lui is introduced to Ama's good friend Shiba (Arata), she finds herself torn between the two men -- she's equally attracted to Shiba, another devotee of body modification, and since he's a tattoo artist, he can give her skin illustrations without charge if she sleeps with him. Adapted from a popular novel by Hitomi Kanehara, Hebi Ni Piasu (aka Snakes and Earrings) received its North American premiere at the 2009 New York Asian Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi