"Tokyo Decadence"
1992
Directed by Ryu Murakami

Japanese novelist and filmmaker Ryu Murakami adapts his novel Topaz, about a prostitute's (Miho Nikaido) search for redemption. Ai falls under the spell of a charismatic dominatrix and tries desperately to reverse her slide into cocaine dependency and sexual slavery. "Murakami adeptly throws us off balance, with deadpan black humor and a complex politic involving the notion of 'wealth without pride' " (Toronto Film Festival). With Sayoko Amano, Tenmei Kanou and Masahiko Shimada. Japanese with English subtitles.  112 minutes.