Flesh Pier
女体棧橋 (Jotai Sanbashi)

New York Premiere

Another world of illicit pleasures lies beneath the glittering neon surface of Tokyo. Ken Utsui stars as an undercover cop investigating a call-girl ring operating out of a Ginza nightclub, where he is surprised to discover the boss’s moll is his long lost love. He also recognizes a fashion model at the club—Haruko (Akemi Tsukushi), whom he knew as a reporter when he was fighting crime in Kobe. The sharp-eyed pianist, Teruo (Teruo Hata) senses something fishy about these two—and relays his suspicions to Rumi, who has Haruko confined in Teruo’s room. Ishii filmed his twisty story of evasions and betrayals, set in Japan’s sex industry, in the back streets of Akasaka, Ginza and Shinjuku, in a semi-documentary style with an unblinking recognition of its sordidness, together with a winking acknowledgment of its pleasures. This double-jointed approach became his trademark.

Japan. 1958. B&W, blu-ray,75 min., in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Teruo Ishii. Yoko Mihara, Ken Utsui, Akemi Tsukushi, Teruo Hata.

Part of the Globus Film Series 2013

TICKETS
$12/$9 Japan Society members, seniors and students

Buy tickets online or call the Japan Society Box Office at (212) 715-1258, Mon. – Fri. 11 am – 6 pm, Weekends 11 am – 5 pm.