I saw the extremely edited version of this film for USA release and was completely disgusted. Not by the story or "sex" but by the absolute lack of discernible plot or point. The first half of the movie was intriguing and interesting, but at some point our heroine meets up with a stranger colleague who talks with her about her love problems (?) with someone (?) and gives her the sage advice to go to him and tell him her feelings. (feelings? love interest? wha? who's he?) then the strange lady gives our heroine a pill, telling her it will give her courage. She takes the pill and then goes on a long, bizarre journey that makes no sense and ends up somewhere, meanwhile the strange woman dies of an overdose of something. Wha? Huh? Apparently the lost 23 minutes are the joining parts of the story. The movie ultimately made NO sense whatsoever. I'm guessing that all the glowing reviews are from the people who were blessed with those 23 minutes that I did not see.

If the copy you are looking at is timed at under 130 minutes, don't waste your time.

Very erotic and sick at the same time. This movie leads you down the dark allies of human sexuality. But it touches more than the loins. This is mostly because of the innocence of the Ai, the main character. Her quest for true love and happiness stands in a deep contrast with the dark nighttime of Tokyo, ridden with perverse sex and cocaine.

This movie is a must for people interested in culture, sexuality and gender roles. It gives perfect examples of how power play somehow gets us excited, but mainly rests upon images of gender and sex we have invented inside our culture. It's a little Foucault, it's a little de Sade, it's just very interesting.