A pointer towards LIFE UNTITLED (2019) Japan Cuts 2020

Director Kana Yamada adapts her stage play about the women who work at an escort service in Tokyo. Humor mixes with horror as we see the girls' lives play out before us.

While possessing some of the staginess of a play (much of the film takes place in one location and several scenes play out as only plays do) this is bleak raw portrait of what many women are forced to endure to make a living and just get by in life.  It is in your face at times possessing a lived in quality that makes you wonder how much of this is a direct result of writer director Yamada's life.

I was rocked by what I was seeing. While there isn't anything I hadn't know happened to women, the sheer volume of the abuse was crushing. I can only imagine what sort of an experience this must be for a woman. And you'll forgive me if I don't speak to anything other than the visceral punch I felt watching this as a man.

A visceral stunner LIFE UNTITLED is recommended.

To stream this film or any other playing at Japan Cuts go here