White Lily (4 Stars)

When I watched "Dark Water" last month I said I would watch more films directed by Hideo Nakata. It was a lucky coincidence that I was able to see "Stolen Identity" in the Japanese Film Festival at the weekend. His other films are more difficult to find outside of Japan... unless you live in Germany. Several of his films have been released in Germany which aren't available in other countries. These films only have German subtitles, so they're not useful for most people. That's a foolish marketing strategy by Busch Media Group, Koch Media and whichever other companies have released his films on Blu-ray. If they added English subtitles to the discs they would have a much bigger market. They don't even have to release the films outside of Germany, because Hideo Nakata's fans would order them from Amazon.de to wherever they live.

That suggestion is for others. I speak fluent German, so I'm happy with German subtitles.

This film is part of the Roman Porno Reboot Project. The company Nikkatsu asked five directors to make erotic films in the style of films that Nikkatsu used to make from 1971 to 1988. You can find a complete list here. They're low budget films, usually made within a week. I doubt that the reboot was successful, because I'm not aware of any more films being made since the five films were made in 2017. We'll have to wait and see. 

I've already reviewed Sion Sono's contribution, the subversive "Antiporno". I'm sure it wasn't what Nikkatsu had in mind. "White Lily" is probably closer to what Nikkatsu wanted, although Hideo Nakata has stamped his own style on it.

Haruka ran away from home as a teenager. She was invited in from the rain by a married couple, Kosuke and Tokiko. They took pity on her and allowed her to live with them. Tokiko was about to open a pottery making school, so she invited Haruka to be her first student. Years went by. Haruka became an expert at making pottery, so she was also a teacher in the school.

At some point Kosuke died. Tokiko and Haruka became lovers. I'm reluctant to call it a lesbian relationship. Haruka was still a virgin, and she loved Tokiko as a person rather than sexually. Tokiko preferred sex with men, but she found comfort in Haruka's arms. It was an awkward relationship. Tokiko had one-night stands with men which left her feeling empty, so she went to bed with Haruka when the men left. Haruka wasn't happy with a relationship like this, but she loved Tokiko so much that she was willing to put up with the men who came and went.

The relationship could have remained as it was, but then a young man called Satoru joins the school as an apprentice. Tokiko seduces him, and they have sex regularly, but he has no intention of remaining with her because she's twice his age. He prefers Haruka, who's the same age as he is, but she doesn't want to be with him.

Pottery is a very sensual activity, especially in a school environment. Touching one another with wet hands can easily lead to more. Hideo Nakata made a good choice when he added it to his film. As someone who had previously never made an erotic film, he shows a natural aptitude.

The sex scenes are frequent but never explicit. We don't see any more than naked breasts. This was evidently typical for the original Roman Porno films. In fact, the word "porno" seems out of place.

The other three Roman Porno Reboot films are available in Germany. I may watch them, I don't know yet. What I can say with certainty is that I'll watch more of Hideo Nakata's films.