Beads From a Petal
Encyclopedia
aka Drops on the Petal and Droplets from a Petal is a 1972
Japan
ese film in Nikkatsu
's Roman porno series, directed by Noboru Tanaka
and starring Rie Nakagawa and Keiko Maki.
's critically praised Lovers Are Wet
.
The film also marked major Roman porno director, Noboru Tanaka
's debut. The title was originally I'm Burning Up (Moeagaru watashi), which is the title Tanaka preferred. Tanaka's intent in the film was to allegorically portray Japanese society in the post-war years. In a 2005 interview, he said, "I thought the very atmosphere that surrounded us at the end of World War II, was similar to that enveloping a woman unable to feel anything when having sex. So I wanted to exemplify the situation we were facing after the war, by using the issue of a woman's frigidity. I wanted to think about the real meaning of Japan's restoration, following defeat in the war... After the war, Japan suffered from frigidity and the film described how the psychological bruises Japan suffered from would gradually be cured as time passed, through a young woman's life."
. He concludes, "Tedious and formulaic, this is a film which, were it not for the sporadic sex scenes, would be the stuff of soap opera."
In their Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films, the Weissers judge that despite the film's weaknesses, Tanaka's visuals and Nakagawa's performance make the film worthwhile. Director Tanaka would revisit the flower shop motif in Afternoon Affair: Transformation (1973), which the Weissers call a kind of "flip-side" of Beads from a Petal.
1972 in film
The year 1972 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Avanti!, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Jack Lemmon and Juliet MillsB...
Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese film in Nikkatsu
Nikkatsu
is a Japanese entertainment company well known for its film and television productions. It is Japan's oldest major movie studio. The name Nikkatsu is an abbreviation of Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally "Japan Cinematograph Company".-History:...
's Roman porno series, directed by Noboru Tanaka
Noboru Tanaka
was a Japanese film director best known known for his Roman Porno films, including three critically respected films known as the Showa trilogy: A Woman Called Sada Abe , Watcher in the Attic , and Beauty's Exotic Dance: Torture! , all three starring Nikkatsu Roman porno queen Junko Miyashita...
and starring Rie Nakagawa and Keiko Maki.
Synopsis
Yukie is a young woman who works at her father's flower shop. She uses her job to hide from her problems including a marriage troubled by her sexual frigidity. Her husband and her best friend engage in an affair, and Yukie goes to her father for advice on how to save her marriage.Cast
- Rie Nakagawa: Yukie Komaki
- Gen Mitamura: Haruhiko Komaki
- Keiko Maki: Kazuyo
- Kazuko ShirakawaKazuko Shirakawais a Japanese actress who is best known for her appearances in Nikkatsu's Roman Porno films during the 1970s. She appeared in Nikkatsu's first film in the Roman Porno series, Apartment Wife , and is considered the first of the three "Nikkatsu Queens" of the 1970s...
: Akiko - Ryūji Ōizumi: Tetsuya Kirimoto
- Keisuki Yukioka: Arashiyama Kitamura
- Hiroshi Chō: Dr. Yano
- Mitsuko Aoi: Yukie's mother
- Chieko Harada: Miho
- Chie Kanai: Takako
- Yachio Satō: Kaoru
- Yoshie Kitta: Reiko Itsuki
Background
Beads From a Petal was actress Rie Nakagawa's Nikkatsu debut. For several years she had starred in independent pink films under the name Sakayu Nakagawa. When she joined Nikkatsu, the studio insisted that she change her stage name. Nakagawa would go on to star in several films for the studio, including the Office Lady Journal series, and Tatsumi KumashiroTatsumi Kumashiro
was a Japanese film director best known for his critically acclaimed, award-winning Roman Porno films, such as Ichijo's Wet Lust and The Woman with Red Hair...
's critically praised Lovers Are Wet
Lovers Are Wet
is a 1973 Japanese film in Nikkatsu's Roman porno series, directed by Tatsumi Kumashiro and starring Rie Nakagawa. Alternate titles for the film include Twisted Path of Youth, Twisted Path of Love, and Lovers and Wet Sands...
.
The film also marked major Roman porno director, Noboru Tanaka
Noboru Tanaka
was a Japanese film director best known known for his Roman Porno films, including three critically respected films known as the Showa trilogy: A Woman Called Sada Abe , Watcher in the Attic , and Beauty's Exotic Dance: Torture! , all three starring Nikkatsu Roman porno queen Junko Miyashita...
's debut. The title was originally I'm Burning Up (Moeagaru watashi), which is the title Tanaka preferred. Tanaka's intent in the film was to allegorically portray Japanese society in the post-war years. In a 2005 interview, he said, "I thought the very atmosphere that surrounded us at the end of World War II, was similar to that enveloping a woman unable to feel anything when having sex. So I wanted to exemplify the situation we were facing after the war, by using the issue of a woman's frigidity. I wanted to think about the real meaning of Japan's restoration, following defeat in the war... After the war, Japan suffered from frigidity and the film described how the psychological bruises Japan suffered from would gradually be cured as time passed, through a young woman's life."
Critical appraisal
Robert Firsching, writing for Allmovie, judges the film to be "disappointing" in comparison to some of Tanaka's other films made the same year, such as Woman On the Night TrainWoman on the Night Train
aka Night Train Woman is a 1972 Japanese film in Nikkatsu's Roman porno series, directed by Noboru Tanaka and starring Mari Tanaka.-Synopsis:...
. He concludes, "Tedious and formulaic, this is a film which, were it not for the sporadic sex scenes, would be the stuff of soap opera."
In their Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films, the Weissers judge that despite the film's weaknesses, Tanaka's visuals and Nakagawa's performance make the film worthwhile. Director Tanaka would revisit the flower shop motif in Afternoon Affair: Transformation (1973), which the Weissers call a kind of "flip-side" of Beads from a Petal.