A Snake of June
六月の蛇 / ROKUGATSU NO HEBI
2003, 77 min, Colour, 35mm, R21
Directed by: TSUKAMOTO Shinya / 塚本晋也
Cast: KUROSAWA Asuka, KOTARI Yuji, TSUKAMOTO Shinya
Source: Overseas Group

Rinko, a married woman with a peaceful, sexless marriage whose world turns upside down when she is disturbed by a stranger who enters her life. She works as a telephone counsellor and one day, talks a man out of committing suicide. Not long after, she receives a package which contains a mobile phone with secretly taken photographs of herself. The mobile phone rings and a man blackmails Rinko into performing a series of erotic acts. She feels totally helpless and continues to obey his instructions. As Rinko struggles with her shame, she also begins to notice something awakening in her own emotions. Later on, she learns that the man is Igushi Michio, a dying cancer patient, who used to be a sales product photographer. After Shigehiko, Rinko's husband, discovers one of Igushi's letters, the husband becomes entangled in the mental games - with surprising results for their marriage.

Special Jury Prize - Venice International Film Festival in 2002

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