FROG SONG DVD Review

Japanese "Pink" movies are apparently like a box of chocolates: you never know what you're gonna get. As long as the requisite number of sex-scenes is met, the director gets nearly unlimited non-financial freedom to explore whatever territory he finds most interesting.

Because of this the entries in this genre are incredibly varied, the only connecting factors being a low budget and some erotic content. Script quality covers a range from ambitious to non-existing.

Shinji Imaoka's "Enjo-Kôsai Monogatari: Shitagaru Onna-Tachi" (western title "Frog Song") lies somewhere in the middle: it describes the friendship between two women who share a love for manga comics and plush frog dolls. This seems like a starting point for some lesbian sex but the opposite happens: it turns into a surprisingly honest and subtle portrayal of an uneasy friendship while sex is viewed with a very critical eye.

What's this? Did I just mention words like subtle, honest and critical in relation to a (soft)porn movie?

A brief "What is Pink":

Japan is one of the few countries which still has a soft-porn industry, hardcore porn being prohibited from getting shown in a public venue. Not so much thriving as spluttering, this industry churns out cheaply made skinflicks which can be seen in dedicated cinemas as double- or triple-bills.

These movies are called pink and they're an odd lot.
For starters the very strict Government regulations forbid any actual on-set nudity "downstairs" when depicting sex (nudity when bathing is sometimes allowed), so all actors wear concealing patches. To avoid this from being visible on-screen, part of the image will be blurred at moments or a funny animation will cover the offending area. Most popular though is the "Austin Powers" method of having some on-set prop coincidentally covering what's going on in the background.

However, one of the side-effects of this chasteness is that there isn't a big stigma clinging to people who have been active in this business. Quite some actors and directors got their start in the pink industry or briefly dabbled in it, and between all the trash there is occasionally real talent to be found.


The Plot:

Fed up with her cheating boyfriend, Akemi beats the crap out of him and leaves the apartment in a fury. Drowning her sorrows in a manga bar she meets Kyoko and after a brief fight about a manga they both want the two become friends. When she discovers they both like plush frog dolls, Akemi even moves in with Kyoko but this proves less than ideal. Kyoko is a struggling manga artist who makes money by working as a prostitute, and she keeps egging Akemi on to try it as well, if only to pay her part of the rent. And to buy a plush frog suit of course!

Things don't turn out as planned though, and Akemi needs to choose between her boyfriend, her new roommate or building a real future for herself.


The Movie:

Few people will mistake "Frog Song" for great cinema, but the truth is it ain't bad either. Both female leads have a believable chemistry and are played well by Konatsu and Rinako Hirasawa.
Astonishingly for a softcore sex movie, their relationship never strays into the sexual but keeps being based on friendship alone. Even more bafflingly sex is not displayed here as particularly desirable. Akemi cleaning the stains out of a mattress the morning after soiling it is not exactly a turn-on. The jobs both girls take as prostitutes also never seems to give them any fun, rather it shows Kyoko and Akemi allowing themselves to be temporarily abused in exchange for cash and that's it. This movie shows a refreshingly honest approach to prostitution, never glamorizing it.
This gets shown in no uncertain way when one of her customers gives Akemi the choice to be beaten up instead of sleeping with him, for the same amount of money. Akemi chooses the violence rather than having sex, and the next shot shows her happily buying stuff with her newfound money while sporting a busted face.

Sex with a stranger being less fun than a punch in the face? How unusual for a sex film!

With the typical short running time of 63 minutes (remember: it should fit in a triple-bill) and surprisingly engaging leads, "Frog Song" never has the time to become boring, except maybe during some of the more superfluous sex scenes. Director Shinji Imaoka even throws in a couple of absurdly comical sketches, like two angry women having a sword fight with baguettes or the musical number at the end.

Yes, I'll say that last bit again: this pink movie sports a finale which includes a Bollywood-style fantastical sing-and-dance act featuring every single person who was in the movie. It's badly sung, badly danced and looks like it was shot in a hurry to be gone before the police arrived (some of the participants sport VERY little clothing), but it's undeniably funny! It's also the last thing I expected in a production which otherwise looks like it had no budget whatsoever.


Conclusion:

There are undoubtedly better films portraying the relationship between two unlikely friends, but I don't think there are better softcore sex films doing this!

If I were the producer I might chide director Shinji Imaoka for making a sex movie which is almost totally un-arousing on the erotic front, but as an engaging and quirky portrayal of two oddball people it's something of a minor success. As long as you don't go in expecting a deep and meaningful film but rather a tv-movie-of-the-week you will notice it's... surprisingly decent.

I wouldn't mind if Shinji Imaoka later on turns out to become quite a popular and successful director. This pink film will then be an odd "sin of the past" in his filmography, but he need not be ashamed of it and the same goes for his two lead actresses.


About the DVD:

"Frog Song" is being distributed on DVD by Salvation Films, and once again the disc is weird to say the least.

Video first: the image is in a very low resolution, has black bands on all 4 sides and is edge-enhanced to the point that any contrast will attract a halo. It also suffers from combing. The only nice thing I can say is that the colors are good. It's better than VHS I guess, but rest assured this transfer will never win any prices.
Audio is, well, there. Subtitles are strangely enough defaulted to be "Off", quickly noticeable since there is no English dub. Once set to "On" they're actually very good but unfortunately Salvation once again doesn't translate any of the credits, meaning I can't say who played what with any certainty. Come on guys, stop doing this (or rather, start).

As for the extras: there are some, most of them weird.
For starters there is a liner note explaining pink cinema and a still gallery for "Frog Song".
Once again there is a totally unrelated short movie on this disc, same as with other films released by Salvation. This time it is "Japanese Box", an 11-minute entry into the Japanese ghost genre. It displays all overused Grudge cliche's and is marred by an unintelligible French accented voice-over. It comes with its own still gallery. Contrary to other Salvation discs this time the main feature is vastly superior to the short.
Salvation is fond of still galleries it seems: there is also one for a picture book about "Satanic Sluts". There is no trailer for "Frog Song" but there are some for other Salvation releases: "The Nude Vampire", "Black Mass" and "The Witching Hour" (none of them pink, by the way).

All in all a so-so disc of poor-ish quality, but the movie was a pleasant little surprise.