A glamorous con woman (Ayako Wakao) manipulates a wealthy housewife (Kyôko Kishida). The affair is intense and surprisingly frank for the era. Then the con artist turns her attention to men and the film grows less interesting. Manji was adapted by Kaneto Shindô from the novel by Jun’ichirō Tanizaki. Director Yasuzō Masumura coaxes broad, campy performances from his cast. It’s part erotic thriller. Part farce. The ridiculous plot devolves into nonsense by the end.

Here’s a spoiler filled recap. Trigger warning for depictions of self-harm.

Act One: The Goddess of Mercy

Scene One: A Psychiatrist’s Office in Osaka
SONOKO (nervous widow): It started when I signed up for art class. That’s where I met Mitsuko.
PSYCHIATRIST: …

Scene Two: Art School
PRINCIPAL: You’re supposed to draw the Goddess of Mercy. You’ve drawn Mitsuko.
SONOKO (desperate housewife): My goodness. I can’t stop thinking about her.
MITSUKO (femme fatale): Now everyone thinks we’re lovers. Can you imagine?
SONOKO: No. Not at all. Nope.

Scene Three: Sonoko’s Bedroom
MITSUKO: Draw me again. You’ve got the face right but not my body.
(Mitsuko strips. She covers herself partially in a sheet.)
SONOKO: Don’t hide anything from me!
(Sonoko tears off the sheet. The camera pans over Mitsuko’s nude body.)
MITSUKO: There’s a lot of male gaze here.
SONOKO: The only gays here are you and me. (They kiss.)

Act Two: Men Ruin Everything

Scene Four: Sonoko’s Home
HUSBAND (a dull lawyer): I don’t like you sketching nude women.
SONOKO: You’re such a square. There’s nothing wrong with women spending naked time together.
(The phone rings.)
MITSUKO: Help. My boyfriend took me to an inn, and someone stole our clothes. Bring some money.
SONOKO: Boyfriend!?

Scene Five: Inn
BOYFRIEND (a sleaze): Thanks for the money. So embarrassing. She won’t marry me unless we sign a contract agreeing to share her.
SONOKO: What a perfectly sensible thing to do. (Signs the contract in blood.)
BOYFRIEND: You poor unfortunate soul! I’ll show your husband the contract!
SONOKO: Whatever. No man can stop my love.
MITSUKO: Forgive me Sonoko. I’m pregnant. Just kidding. I’m not. But what if I am?

Scene Six: Cabin
SONOKO: Let’s fake a suicide attempt. Then my husband will take pity on us.
MITSUKO: What a perfectly sensible thing to do.
(Sonoko takes sleeping powder. Mitsuko does not. Husband arrives.)
MITSUKO: Let’s have sex next to your wife.
HUSBAND: Okay, I guess.
SONOKO (Wakes Up): Oh, hell no!

Act Three: Messy Throuple

Scene Seven: Sonoko’s Home
MITSUKO: If you’re going to share me you have to obey me. Stop eating. I’ll feed you nothing but sleeping powder.
SONOKO and HUSBAND: What a perfectly sensible thing to do.
(Weeks later, they’re starving.)
HUSBAND: Should we leave her?
SONOKO: Of course not.
MITSUKO: We’re ruined! My ex-boyfriend gave our story to the tabloids! We should commit suicide.
SONOKO and HUSBAND: Sure. That makes sense.
(The three lay in bed and take poison.)

Scene Eight: Therapists Office
SONOKO: And then I woke up. They had poisoned themselves and fed me sleeping powder. Why did she do this? What do I do now?
PSYCHIATRIST: …
SONOKO: How much am I paying you?

THE END

Quicksand

Tanizaki often wrote about women and about obsessive love, the destructive forces of sexuality, and the dual nature of woman as goddess and demon.
New World Encyclopedia

The cinema of Masumura defies simple categorization… And they’re undoubtedly among the most-envelope-pushing studio films of the late 1950s and 60s.
British Film Institute

Mitsuko enjoys exercising power over others. It’s unclear whether she has a plan or is simply improvising. Sonoko knows she’s being lied to yet chooses to play along. Both women are impulsive and eager to escape their assigned roles. It’s impressive that, for all their flaws, their sexuality is not judged. The film is exploitive but not moralistic.

Tanizaki’s novel was published in serial format for Kaizō magazine between 1928 and 1930. It has been adapted into five more films, one set in Berlin. The themes of sexuality, obsession, and betrayal remain timeless.

You can read more of my reviews on The Avocado, Letterboxd and Serializd. My podcast, Rainbow Colored Glasses, can be found here.