"A Woman Called Sada Abe: Beyond the Realm of the Senses"
1975
Directed by Noboru Tanaka

Released a year before Nagisa Oshima unveiled In The Realm of the Senses to international audiences, this acclaimed feature, which tells the same story, was released in Japan. The tale of a young geisha who has an obsessive sexual relationship with a married man that culminates in death was drawn from a true story that shocked Japan in the 1930s. Although produced on a lower budget and never given the attention that Oshima's film received, this is a powerful work of dark erotica. Also known as Sada Abe: A Docu-drama, the film was retitled when Oshima's film became a worldwide success. Japanese with English subtitles.  75 minutes.