The first half of R100 may be the most tedious film you will sit through this year. And yet, the second half elevates it into a cult masterpiece that may be the best film I've seen so far at Sundance.
A middle-aged man (Nao Ohmori) has a wife in a coma, and he's very, very lonely. So, in order to meet his needs, he signs up for sadomasochism services to forget his problems, get comfort, and live out his wild side.
This story may be too jarring for American audiences to appreciate this Japanese film. Its tone shifts from a serious, sluggish drama to splashes of quirky scenes that scream, "What am I watching?"
The subject matter alone may keep many of you from seeing it, but that's when the second half kicks in. The film uses a Greek chorus device that features movie executives leaving in the middle of a screening of R100 to comment on the outrageous plot that you're seeing on screen. It's here where the film's self-referencing nature truly becomes clear. The film wants us to be okay in laughing with it rather than feeling nauseous.
It became clear to me that satire is its intent and the story itself isn't a load of junk, but the load of what a man's secret sin can do to his soul. While the message of it is so incredibly on point, in order to get a wider audience, the humor needs to be much richer and light-hearted with broader comedy and not rely on twisted quirks.
