| Empire of Passion | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Nagisa Ōshima |
| Written by | Nagisa Ōshima Itoko Nakamura |
| Produced by | Anatole Dauman |
| Starring | Kazuko Yoshiyuki Tatsuya Fuji Takahiro Tamura Takuzo Kawatani Akiko Koyama |
| Cinematography | Yoshio Miyajima |
| Edited by | Keiichi Uraoka |
| Music by | Toru Takemitsu |
Production company | Oshima Nagisa Production |
| Distributed by | Toho Towa |
Release date |
|
Running time | 108 minutes[1] |
| Countries | France Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Box office | 276,040 tickets (France)[2] |
Empire of Passion (愛の亡霊,Ai no Bōrei) is a 1978 French-Japanese film produced, written and directed byNagisa Ōshima, based on a novel by Itoko Nakamura.[3][4] The film was a co-production between Oshima Prods. and Argos Films.[5]
In 1895 arickshaw runner arrives home in a village in Japan. His wife Seki is sexually assaulted by a young neighbour, Toyoji. They became lovers. He's very jealous of Seki's husband and decides that they should kill him. One night, after the husband has had plenty ofshōchū to drink and is in bed, they strangle him and dump his body down a well. To avert any suspicions, Seki pretends her husband has gone off to Tokyo to work. For three years Seki and Toyoji secretly see each other. Their relationship has moments of intense passion, but the young man starts to distance himself from Seki. Finally, suspicions in the village become very strong and people begin to gossip. To make matters worse, her husband's ghost begins to haunt her and the law arrives to investigate her husband's disappearance.
Empire of Passion was Japan's submission to the51st Academy Awards for theAcademy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a nominee.[6] The film was entered into the1978 Cannes Film Festival, where Ōshima won the award forBest Director.[7] It was released on DVD by Fox Lorber Films in 2000 under the titleIn the Realm of Passion.
The film "was Oshima's only truekaidan (Japanese ghost story)" and is described as "a savage, unrelenting experience".[8]