Film
Life Untitled (tba)
Dir. Yamada Kana, Japan, 2019, 98 min, subtitled. Cast. Itoh Sairi, Tsunematsu Yuri, Kataoka Reiko.
In the ramshackle office of one of Tokyo’s inconspicuous, low-rent escort services, the lives of the call girls waiting for their next client are laid bare. Kano, who acts as a caretaker for the girls, tries her best to defuse any potential drama, but their already tenuous peace is thrown into disarray when a new girl joins, and the hierarchy among the girls shifts. This feature film debut from Yamada Kana (head of the ROJI9 theatre company) is an adaptation of a stage play she penned herself. Rather than exploiting the stereotypes often attached to the sex industry, this offers a more humanistic view of the lives of these women trying to make a living as best they know how.
In the ramshackle office of one of Tokyo’s inconspicuous, low-rent escort services, the lives of the call girls waiting for their next client are laid bare. Kano, who acts as a caretaker for the girls, tries her best to defuse any potential drama, but their already tenuous peace is thrown into disarray when a new girl joins, and the hierarchy among the girls shifts. This feature film debut from Yamada Kana (head of the ROJI9 theatre company) is an adaptation of a stage play she penned herself. Rather than exploiting the stereotypes often attached to the sex industry, this offers a more humanistic view of the lives of these women trying to make a living as best they know how.
