Yasuzo Masumura made many fascinating films, including my favorite entry in the "Hanzo The Razor" series, "The Snare", easily the most psycho-sexual of the trio. His "Blind Beast", based on a story by Edogawa Rampo, one of Japan's most famous horror writers, is an intense study of obsession, emotional manipulation and the perverse nature of art.
A sculptor, Machio (Eiji Funakoshi), blind since birth, becomes obsessed with a beautiful artists' model, Aki (Mako Midori), and kidnaps her with with the assistance of his devoted mother (Noriko Sengoku). Dedicated to producing a sculpture of the the imprisoned beauty, Machio's plans are initially thwarted by Machio's reluctance to be his model and mother's reluctance to let her boy experience physical love for the first time.
Funakoshi's performance as the blind sculptor is extraordinary and chilling. Scenes of him compulsively raking his hands over Aki's body possess a psychotic, orgasmic intensity. Mako Midori is sensational as the blatantly manipulative model, skilfully portraying both victim and victimizer as the psycho-sexual engines begin to reverse direction.
Machio's studio, a strange cavern of gigantic sculptures, is surreal and bizarre. At one point, Aki argues that the pieces, female body parts, are so large because they are sculpted from the perspective of a baby. The cinematography is elegant and evocative, and the compositions echo some of Antonioni's finest work. Hikaru Hayashi's signature theme music is painfully tender, beautiful and haunting, resonating well beyond the final frames.
William Wyler's film of John Fowles' "The Collector" was clearly a thematic and visual inspiration for this fascinating film.
The final act is powerful and transporting as it provides a perfect but perverse solution to the situation our unlikely lovers find themselves in. Many years later, Pedro Almodovar would expand on it in his wonderful tale of brittle passion, "Matador".
Blind Beast
1969 [JAPANESE]
Action / Drama / Horror
Plot summary
A blind sculptor kidnaps an artists' model and imprisons her in his warehouse studio – a shadowland of perverse monuments to the female form. Here a deranged passion play of sensual and sexual obsession is acted out in world where sight is replaced by touch.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
October 28, 2021 at 11:06 PM
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Perverse, beautiful and haunting
Interesting And Haunting "Classic" Japanese Film...
Wasn't sure what to expect with BLIND BEAST as I hadn't heard anything about it when I watched it - but I liked it quite a bit. Strong and interesting storyline, good acting, and an off-the-wall ending made this one an enjoyable "classic" Japanese erotic/horror/drama...
A blind sculptor kidnaps a famous model with the help of his mother, to use as the model for his "perfect" sculpture. The model is uninterested in the sculptors artistic pursuit (as is typically common of kidnapping victims...) and tries to devise ways to escape from the warehouse that she's trapped in. The sculptor is actually a very kind person who was raised solely by his mother, and only wishes to create the perfect replica of the model in clay form as a "tribute" to her. Eventually the model falls for the blind-man, and things get strange. When the mother dies from an accident, the sculptor and sculptee spend all of their time boning. Eventually the model starts to also go blind as a result of the poor lighting, and their sexual escapades become more dark and depraved as they yearn for deeper fulfillment. The ending is somewhat shocking and beautiful in an understated way, which I won't give away here...
BLIND BEAST is a unique film, in that it portrays some "controversial" (for 1969...) material in a straight-faced and serious manner. There is some nudity, but it's "light", and there is almost no blood - yet the ending is pretty violent. An interesting and deep film, that will probably appeal to Japanese-pinky fans or others that dig 60's/70's era Japanese films...8.5/10
One of the better movies within its genre.
Yes, believe it or not, these weird, artistic looking, violent, sadomasochism movies are actual part of a much larger genre, that mostly the Japanese have specialized in. Its genre is often hard to watch but at the same time you will also be able to appreciate the visual beauty and delicateness of the movie.
Out of all the movies I have seen so far that can be put under the same label as "Môjû", this movie is certainly one of the better ones. Its storytelling shock you more than the actual images of the movie and visually it's also a great looking movie with grand and unusual looking sets. It's definitely an artistic movie but it's story will still grab everyone, no matter how simplistic it and odd it all gets at times.
Even though in essence its a sadomasochism movie, the movie is more focused on its psychological sexual aspects and how the characters experience them. There is nudity and gore but that is not just simply what the movie is supposed to be all about.
It's definitely a movie you simply need to experience. A lot can be written about it but it in no way can capture the essence and mood of the movie.
8/10
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