Coming Soon
LOVE HOTEL
1985
Director
Shinji Sōmai
Starring
Minori Terada
Noriko Hayami
Runtime
88 minutes
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Echoes of the past reverberate when an ex-call girl and a disgraced and traumatized debtor meet two years after the violently fateful night that first brought them together. An existential study of two lonely and tortured souls, Shinji Somai’s torrid pinku eiga follows the pair as they kindle a newfound friendship amid the chaos of their broken and dispirited lives.
LOVE HOTEL is a melancholic and subversive foray into the softcore erotic ‘roman porno’ genre in which Sōmai got his start at the Nikkatsu Studios. Set against the backdrop of a shimmering neon cityscape and soundtracked by Momoe Yamaguchi’s heartrending crooning, this is a film of rough sex, nostalgic yearning, and haunting artistic languor.
"By the time the credits roll and that howling ballad rolls onto the soundtrack, I was nearly broken." - Kai Perrignon
"Love is sad. Hotels are sad. Sex is sad. Rain is sad. Staircases are sad. Taxis are sad. Music is sad. Mirrors are sad. Life is sad. Death is sad. This movie is fucking sad." - April Xiong
LOVE HOTEL is a melancholic and subversive foray into the softcore erotic ‘roman porno’ genre in which Sōmai got his start at the Nikkatsu Studios. Set against the backdrop of a shimmering neon cityscape and soundtracked by Momoe Yamaguchi’s heartrending crooning, this is a film of rough sex, nostalgic yearning, and haunting artistic languor.
"By the time the credits roll and that howling ballad rolls onto the soundtrack, I was nearly broken." - Kai Perrignon
"Love is sad. Hotels are sad. Sex is sad. Rain is sad. Staircases are sad. Taxis are sad. Music is sad. Mirrors are sad. Life is sad. Death is sad. This movie is fucking sad." - April Xiong