The Glamorous Life of Sachiko Hanai (2004)

30% of critics liked it
(20 reviews)
44% of users liked it
(944 ratings)

A sexy call girl becomes the flashpoint of an international incident after inadvertently coming into possession of a curious artifact with the power to unleash Armageddon on a world consumed by chaos. Sachiko Hanai makes a living by fulfilling the fantasies of men who always longed to make love to… More A sexy call girl becomes the flashpoint of an international incident after inadvertently coming into possession of a curious artifact with the power to unleash Armageddon on a world consumed by chaos. Sachiko Hanai makes a living by fulfilling the fantasies of men who always longed to make love to their teachers. One day, upon wandering into a local coffee house, the unsuspecting sexpot sets off a violent gun battle between two groups of gangsters involved in some seriously shady dealings. As the guns are drawn, Sachiko attempts to run for cover but instead ends up directly in the path of a stray bullet. A smoking round lodged firmly in her forehead, the dazed prostitute stumbles out into the street as one of the gangsters furtively slips a mysterious metal canister into her purse. When Sachiko's attempt to remove the bullet with an eyeliner pencil cause her synapses to start firing on overdrive, she rapidly gains the ability to speak multiple languages and solve complex mathematical equations. Little does the unsuspecting prostitute realize that the canister dropped into her purse contains the severed finger of the U.S. president - the fingerprint of which possesses the potential to send the entire nuclear arsenal of the powerful Western nation soaring into the skies. Originally released as a routine pinku eiga entitled Horny Home Tutor: Teacher's Love Juice, the film was subsequently expanded into an ambitious anarchic satire of world politics by director Mitsuru Meike and screenwriter Takao Nakano. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By: Meike Mitsuru, Mitsuru Meike
Written By: Takao Nakano
Genres: Drama, Art House & International, Mystery & Suspense, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Comedy

In Theaters: Oct 1, 2003 Wide
On DVD: Jun 5, 2007
Studio: Palm Pictures

Critic Reviews

Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader
A flimsy plot about Korean spies leads to a climactic sight gag involving an enhanced version of George W. Bush's forefinger, but it's all window dressing for the main attraction: lots of bouncing T & A.
Bill Stamets, Chicago Sun-Times
The Glamorous Life of Sachiko Hanai is far less silly than it thinks it is. The upbeat vibe of super-female power misfires with a gratuitous rape scene.
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
Conceptually outlandish but routinely executed, this comic exploration of macho, control-freaky power struggles the world over remains skin-deep.
Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter
Combines soft-core porn with a fantastical sci-fi plot.
Aaron Hillis, Village Voice
An apocalyptic political satire.
Manohla Dargis, New York Times
The overripe morsel who gets batted around in the Japanese absurdithon The Glamorous Life of Sachiko Hanai looks like she was conjured up by a teenage boy in dangerous hormonal overdrive.
Andy Klein, Los Angeles CityBeat
... a weird hybrid in the vein of the 1974 American sex pic Flesh Gordon, but with a more modern, goosed-up style.
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher
My head wants to explode at the woman-hating hideousness of this.
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher
[M]y head wants to explode at the woman-hating hideousness of this.
Jason Ferguson, Orlando Weekly
Recklessly fun, explosively colorful and intensely, abusively edited.
Tom Keogh, Seattle Times
Sachiko Hanai is pretty much just raunch, much like the stuff that insinuates itself onto late-night premium channel programming. And which gets old fast.
Sean Axmaker, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
More entertaining for its impudence than its execution...
Kam Williams, EURWeb
While its title makes no sense, this imaginative erotic adventure mixes the famous file footage of the toppling of the statue of Saddam Hussein in with some rather raunchy behavior of George Bush that will really generate a little shock and awe.
Pam Grady, Reel.com
This is one off-the-wall sex comedy. It is even occasionally actually funny in its offbeat fashion, but it is essentially stupid and the forays into sexual violence are downright ugly.
Chris Barsanti, Film Journal International
The film is nothing more than a rapidly tiresome gag that barely seems to understand the knotty philosophical problems being posited by its lusty fembot heroine.
Jurgen Fauth, About.com
An obscene, elaborate joke at the expense of the Bush Administration.... It's the trashy midnight weird-out that Grindhouse could have been.
Kam Williams, Denver Urban Spectrum
Is this sleaze dressed up as art, or vice-versa? As more and more daring directors opt to push the envelope with similar conversation-provoking pictures, we'll have to let the debate about what could be an emerging cinematic trend continue.
Janos Gereben, Entertainment Insiders
It's a film to be experienced more than judged and is only recommended for those with adventurous tastes. At the very least, I doubt you'll be bored.
Scott Tobias, AV Club
Just don't mistake it for something classier.
Joshua Land, Time Out New York
As befits the form, enjoyment of this film will depend almost entirely on one's appreciation of the substantial anatomical charms of its lead actress.

Read all 20 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

alan j

As a soft core porn movie, its pretty good!! Yes, plot is outrageous and bizarre, but the acting is decent and the pacing of the film moves at a rather brisk clip. One thing for sure, it does entertain as long as nudity and alot of sexual situations does not put you off. I thought… More
As a soft core porn movie, its pretty good!! Yes, plot is outrageous and bizarre, but the acting is decent and the pacing of the film moves at a rather brisk clip. One thing for sure, it does entertain as long as nudity and alot of sexual situations does not put you off. I thought the ending was a bit predictable for such a zany story, but it will hold your interest.

Cast

Emi Kuroda
as Sachiko Hanai
Takeshi Ito
as Kim
Yukijiro Hotaru
as Professor Saeki

Tetsuake Matsue
as Mamoru
Kyoko Hayami

Trailers & Clips

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