Having left her life in the US, a troubled teacher finds a connection with a Yakuza member in hotels destined for those connections.
It could have been a great experience, but it felt incomplete. The reason why can be summarised by an IMDb trivium: “Original cut of the film, which was filmed in 2017 and shelved until its official release in September of 2020, was longer and darker, showing more of a disturbing reality of love hotels, and with more graphic and longer sex and nudity scenes. However some time before release the film was cut down in order to tone it down and attract more wider audience. This is also why most of Alexandra Daddario’s nude scenes were heavily cut down. For example, originally the “sex montage” was longer and it showed her character having rough sex with more men and it also included some topless scenes from her. Despite the rumors there never was any full frontal or lesbian scenes filmed with her. Reportedly, original cut was about 45 minutes longer than final version. It has not been finalized whether a director’s cut or an unrated version would be released.“
This means that while the camera work and the story are great, they become victims of their watered-down version. The film was meant to be longer and darker. It was written and directed this way. It was also acted this way. The sex scenes, other than pleasing to the eye, are also necessary to develop Margaret’s character through her internal turmoil. Also, the (Western, but only) audience would better understand the nature of those hotels. Having heavily cut it in the cutting room, these integral parts of the story feel… incomplete. That makes one wonder how the film would have been perceived or how much we have missed out. Great performance by Alexandra Daddario, whose character increasingly and depressingly descends into isolation, alcoholism, and self-destruction. Takehiro Hira, Carice Van Houten, Misuzu Kanno, and Andrew Rothney complete the brilliant cast.
Cinephiles like daring and provocative films, and they can detect if a film is holding its punches. And the studio’s cut-down version of William Olsson and Catherine Hanrahan’s vision most certainly does. Lastly, think about it. Out of all those films you have watched with Americans or British in Japan, what do their characters have in common?
