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Go, Go Second Time Virgin (1969, Koji Wakamatsu, Japan)
DVD Includes:
* 2.35:1 aspect ratio, enhanced for 16:9 TVs
* selected filmography of Koji Wakamatsu-an interview with director Koji Wakamatsu
* liner notes by Chris D.
Released by Image-Entertainment in conjunction with the American Cinematheque
The second Wakamatsu film released by Image Entertainment and the American Cinematheque is Go, Go Second Time Virgin, which was shot in a remarkable four days, and released three years before Ecstasy of the Angels. Although it has all of the pink film elements (sadomasochism, sex, violence) and some stylistic similarities to the later film (mix of color/black & white, 2.35 cinemascope, use of high and overhead angles), Go, Go Second Time Virgin contains a more linear and coherent narrative structure, making it perhaps an easier pill to swallow than the more experimental Ecstasy of the Angels. In other respects, this may be more difficult to watch for some viewers because of the harrowing sense of emotional anguish lived by the film’s two lead characters, teenagers Poppo (Mimi Kozakura) and Tsukio (Michio Akiyama).
The film begins with four male teens gang raping the 17-year old Poppo up on the rooftop of a seven floor apartment building. A fifth male teenager, Tsukio, remains a passive participant, viewing the proceedings but not intervening. The next morning the two begin a curious love-hate bond based on their mutual self-loathing and horrible common experiences. During the course of the short feature we learn that they both have suicidal tendencies, have been sexually abused, and live alone because their respective working class parents committed suicide. Wakamatsu frames Poppo on...