GurlyIamBeach Instant Favorite.

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Kinley This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

johnnyboyz The thing that has always bugged me with regards to films about sadomasochism pertains as to how those primarily interested in such things are depicted, that is to say as unbalanced; deranged and generally mentally ill. Filmmakers often see things such as sadomasochism, I think, as outsiders to the pursuit, and thus deem it detached from the mainstream, which in mainstream language means that it is strange and perverted. Away from this, S&M is often the butt of a joke; rendered a 'go to' event for cheap laughs and engaged in by cartoon characters as well as those out for cheap kicks by writers. This is no better evident than in 2004's Eurotrip. The fact is, I am yet to see a film which accurately puts across the sense that the people depicted have genuinely reached a decision to undertake this activity. The characters are often skittish or disturbed. This is in ways that those very much into pulling members of the opposite sex in a loud, rowdy bar for one night gratification never are.R100 seems to fall somewhere smack bang in the middle of all this – it does nothing to deconstruct the head of an S&M enthusiast, yet resists the easily obtained own goals upon which a director can doom his work. In a sense, it has nothing to do with S&M – this is in spite of its promotional material and the fact after seeing it, critics could talk of nothing else BUT its S&M content. In actuality, the film is a well-meaning and ambitious piece which aims, although fails, to deliver the sort of controversial avant-garde punch a Gaspar Noé film might otherwise succeed in doing. Instead, it comes off as a blend of "Being John Malkovich" and "The Player" with bits and pieces of famous Japanese auteur Ozu thrown in for good measure. Nao Ōmori plays Katayama, a low level department store salesman with a routine existence in a standard Japanese suburban town which he shares with his young son and elderly father, who comes around to visit every so often. This is punctured by the fact his wife is dying in a coma and he is on the brink of losing his job, although this second pointer is not explored later on as much as the film has you think it might.For reasons that remain unclear, indeed so hazy that we must question as to whether they even happen, Katayama visits an underground club known as "Bondage" (an English word in a Japanese film, no doubt designed to distort the viewing experience for native viewers) where a deal is forged whereby various dominatrices of varying ages and sizes, but all with unworldly abilities, will randomly visit him for flash-sessions. Thereafter, the women will appear and disappear; they will beat him up in the street with nobody batting an eyelid; they will be there, wherever he may be, waiting for a spot-session. Do the patrons of a sushi bar look on in disgust at the fact a dominatrix smashes up Katayama's food with her bare hands prior to him eating it? Or is it Katayama's own grotesque eating habits which infuriate them, and the woman isn't even there. I notice a heavy insistence for the film to have us focus on the pills the Bondage club owner has in his possession when first visited. Was he just a drug dealer the whole time? But none of this really tells you all of it. There are several ideas and films going on here at once: the fourth-wall breaking narrative about the producers who don't like the veteran director doing what he wants in his final film (which, it seems, doubles up as the film WE'RE watching); the tale of a middle aged man losing his mind through what appears to be an ecstasy addition and a bog-standard kitchen sink drama about a man and his son soldiering on through domestic strife. Try to imagine Ozu's "Good Morning" propped up by "My Neighbour Totoro", as imaginary friends and blurred lines between escapism and realism take centre stage. In ways that do not entirely make sense, Katayama ends up falling afoul of this organisation, whose earlier eerie ability to see people on the other sides of doors without the aid of CCTV lives up to its promise as his family become wrapped up in a postmodern series of life threatening games.Why it is that this organisation goes from operating out of a grotty, pokey headquarters in a dilapidated apartment blocks to being able to boast CEO's flying in on private jets from abroad, is never explained. Nor too is as to why this indomitable "Hostel"-like underground gang do not merely hit the switch on his wife's life support machine as she lies there defenceless in a hospital. As it wears on, deliberately I'm sure, the piece falls apart at the seams; becoming stranger and stranger although maintain the ability to make total sense.The ultimate problem with the film lies with the fact it doesn't have enough of a leash on it. I like the idea of there never being any mistresses in the first place, and that the women are essentially a metaphor for how drug addiction at a time of domestic angst can lead on to very bad things: hallucinations and the neglect of one's loved ones. There is a scene with a police man about half way through, where he outlines nothing can be done for the fact adults beating on adults in controlled environments is something they must get on with. He compares the relationship between master and slave as being akin to pro-wrestler and pro-wrestler: when one hurts the other, they do not sue for assault. I looked up the actress who played the aforementioned CEO: the leanest, meanest dominatrix-cum-brothel running yuppy type in history. It turns out she has a wrestling credit to her name. Is there something wrapped up in that?

Gustaf Ottosson As in "Symbol" Matsumoto leaves you philosophically baffled after having finished the movie, and not in a David-Lynch-weird-just-for-the-sake kind of way. "R100" will stay with me for a long time challenging me to decode what the message really is. No matter what answer I will come up with it is rare to find these kind of movies, that offers the diametrical opposite of Hollywood movies that gives even the most ignorant person answers to all his questions.I could give you a number of reasons why you should watch this movie, but if you, like me, is one of those people who doesn't necessarily need a linear plot in order to enjoy a movie, but rather evaluates quality by the directors capacity to surprise you, you will already want to see this movie - and you should.

Raven-1969 A reticent, stiff and introverted office worker, Takafumi, joins a secret BDSM club. He is thrilled to discover that not only do the club's offerings include a wide variety of ways in which he is beaten and humiliated, the treatments are compulsory and unexpected as to time, place, manner and mistress. Everything and anything appears to be on the menu including public humiliation, pain, submission, spitting, bullying, personal insults, blindfolds, ropes and much more. When enforcers from the club invade his office, hangouts, and home, and make it clear that not even Takafumi's relatives are immune from abuse, he doesn't know whether to be scared or thrilled. In truth he seems to be both. When one of the club's mistresses is killed by accident while administering a beating, Takafumi invites the wrath of the gigantic, powerful and temperamental company CEO. This quirky, kinky, unconventional, offbeat and irreverent offering from one of Japan's most popular icons, is delightfully crude. While lacking in depth, the films is playful and fun to watch. Seen at the raucous midnight madness series of the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.

Paul Magne Haakonsen This movie was weird, even by Japanese standards.I enjoy Asian cinema, and it is only rare that a movie turns out to be not worth really spending time on watching. And I must admit that "R100" turned out to be one such movie. I managed to get through two-thirds of the movie before I had to give up out of sheer boredom.The storyline was unfathomably lacking appeal and anything interesting. It is about a man who join an exclusive club in which he is committed for one year, without the chance of breaking his contract during that time. The club, which is a gentleman's club, provides bondage services, and the dominatrix women start showing up at odd places, abusing the man.And that was basically it. It was just one step away from being softcore pornography. Sure, there is an audience for this particular movie, but wow was I bored.The above-mentioned storyline was just ridiculous and unappealing. As you sit there and watch the movie, you can't help but think "what is the purpose of this movie?".The scene with the Queen of Saliva is without a doubt one of the most disturbing filmed sequences I have seen in a long, long time. Not that it was bizarre or horrific in any real sense, but the way that it was shot, the contents of the scene, and the use of repetitive shots, it just culminated in something really, really out of the ordinary."R100" is not one of the brightest moments in Japanese cinema history. I didn't even make it to the end of this movie, and I can honestly say that I will not attempt to give this movie a second chance and try to make it to the end. Watched, bagged and tagged...