“We’re in the ancient Japan of the Hyaku-monogatari (the classical ghost-story anthology “The Hundred Tales”), but you’ve never seen a Japanese period movie like this before… Niwatsukino’s wildly enjoyable debut is crammed with humor and visual surprises. At a time when 95% of Japanese indies are about the emotional and sexual-identity problems of young people, it is (to say the least) refreshing to find a movie that goes for broke with a subject that blows genre conventions apart while offering gutsy storytelling, vivid performances and a fabulous sense of cinema’s possibilities. Buddhists will love it, but so will most everyone else.” – Tony Rayns, Vancouver IFF notes
An erotic fantasy set in Japan’s Edo period, Suffering of Ninko introduces a sexually irresistible Buddhist monk struggling to stay virtuous as he begins to have strange carnal dreams. Ninko (Masato Tsujioka), a young Buddhist monk, has a serious problem; both women and some men find him sexually irresistible. After a troubling encounter with a naked masked woman, he sets out on a journey to purify himself of these sexual advances and haunting fantasies. One day, he arrives in a village decimated by mountain Goddess, Yama-Onna, who seduces and kills the men of the valley whereby Ninko has met his match.
Check out the trailer for Suffering of Ninko below and click here to pre-order your copy. It’s coming to DVD August 14th.
