Flower & Snake (2004)

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Wonderful character development!

Purely Joyful Movie!

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

This is what Eyes Wide Shut should have been. This is Zalman King eroticism with a sharp story line and excellent acting. Super erotic without blatant pornography; that would seem to be the test of great acting/directing/storytelling. I'd give it 10 but the ending seems subject to much interpretation. Although much of the movie is involved in bondage and forms of S&M, I get easily bored if THAT'S all that is going on. There's much more to this, the sequences do not feel contrived, and the reaction of the actors seems very genuine. This is not a slasher/blood splatter flick. In many respects, this is more erotic than what an actual porn flick would be. Overall, a very well done movie!

The first of director Takashi Ishii's own versions of this tale of BDSM and honour, following the very first in 1974. Here we have a much more sexy tale, a lot of the edge has been smoothed away. We still have an enema scene of sorts here but it is by no means as central to the lead character's degradation as it was in the first films. So, whilst this film will appear totally unacceptable to the average film-goer, it is much easier and less uncomfortable to fans of extreme Japanese cinema. In some ways this may be a more transgressive movie because we do come extremely close here to an acceptance, possibly an enjoyment and even an empowerment as a result of the pain, suffering and ultimate 'showing of the real face'. Having said all that for those partial to the sight of female bodies in exquisite bondage, this is the movie for you. Pubic hair is also, unusually, on view and this is certainly the greatest film ever made featuring extreme bondage and ballroom dancing. The men come off very badly, as usual, spending all their time in power games whilst they hand the power straight to the ladies.

Takashi Ishii is my best movie 'find' of the last year (along with Park Chan Wook). When I finished watching BLACK ANGEL #1 I said to myself (silently since the film had left me utterly speechless) I have seen the face of grand opera for the 21st century. FLOWER & SNAKE takes its place on that same lofty summit. But whereas BLACK ANGEL fits neatly into the groove of Verdi and Wagner, FLOWER & SNAKE is more attuned to the hothouse orchid atmosphere of Strauss' SALOME, but dressed up (and down) in very contemporary style. I can imagine that Strauss would have loved for his SALOME to look like this! It is all about unrequited 'forbidden' love/lust. Westerners tend to be very uneasy with this area of human experience: witness S. Kubrick's last gasp of a dying breath EYES WIDE SHUT. Not so the Japanese. They grab Priapus by the horns and do their damnedest to wrestle him to the ground. More often than not leaving a trail of their own blood and guts strewn along the wayside. AND making ART of it all the while.While all S&M is ritualized to one degree or another, in a culture like Japan where RITUAL is fundamental to all cultural experience, the ritualization of the 'forbidden' is raised to the level of the sublime. This is most especially true in its artistic expressions. Erotic art is a very well established genre in Japan. And S&M erotic art is a very well established sub-genre there as well. One need not be an 'S&Mer' to appreciate it's artistic merits. But you can not deny it's artistic merits. I have seen rather a lot of (gay) Japanese erotic art on the web and a lot of it belonged to this sub-genre. If this is not Ishii's bag, then he did his homework very well. The traditional male loin cloth plays a very big role in Japanese homoerotic art, so I was rather surprised to see this fetish lavished so lovingly on the woman in the film. And the whole bondage business!!! The ritualistic binding with rope and knot tying is astonishing!!! And nearly verbatim from the many Japanese prints I have seen. (To see for your self google 'Gengoroh Tagame') This is erotic art of the highest order, albeit of a very specialized order. I can not recommend it too highly. On the other hand, if your sexual tastes are firmly entrenched in the vanilla flavors of Hollywood 'tweenky' sexploitation movies, then you might want to knock back a few before watching this. On the other hand if you enjoy sex while riding a roller coaster thru the funhouse and the chamber of horrors, you will die over this. It gives a whole new meaning to 'two thumbs up'!!!!

Takashi (ANGEL GUTS series, EVIL DEAD TRAP) Ishii has succeeded in making an extremely sexy and interesting film. Apparently an adaptation of some Japanese S&M novel (I don't have time to read anymore - too much sleaze to watch...) which has been made into film several times - FLOWER AND SNAKE has more sexy rope-bondage and humiliation action than you can shake your dong at...and get this...even has a pretty decent storyline.Shizuko is a famous Japanese tango dancer whose husband sells her out to the Yakuza. Seems the 95 year old Yakuza leader has a thing for the beautiful rug-cutter, and will do anything necessary to possess her. The leader's henchmen hatch a plan with the begrudging help of Shizuko's husband - who agree to cancel his debt if he gives up his wife. Kidnapped, along with her sexy female bodyguard and her driver, Shizuko and crew are taken to a place called The Coliseum, where rape and snuff torture shows are played out for high-class clientelle. The driver is killed early on (no big deal - I'm here for the rope-bondage, not a sausage party...) and Shizuko and her hot bodyguard are repeatedly bound, raped, and humiliated for the pleasure of the ancient Yakuza boss for pretty much the rest of the film. There is more to the "story" then that, but I don't wanna give away too much - plus honestly - who cares? I'm on this one to see smokin' Japanese chicks get brutally molested...But seriously, FLOWER AND SNAKE starts off pretty tame and really gets going after the first half-hour or so. The bondage and humiliation scenes are more sexy than "rough" as Shizuko and her bodyguard are bound with ropes and contorted into a bunch of wood-inducing positions. There's lots of protracted close-ups on various female body parts, tons of nekkidness, and one of the highlights: an "intersting" dildo mask double-penetration rape sequence that ends in a forced golden-shower. There's even a decent amount of full-frontal for a Japanese feature (guess they're starting to relax their "no-bush on film" laws...) and tons of tits-n'-ass. I pray for the day that Japan starts allowing film-makers to "show-all" - cuz if FLOWER AND SNAKE would have been a little more explicit - it would have gotten an 11. That being said, I'm surprised at how "tasteful" and professional the film is for the subject matter. It really doesn't come off as a fetish film, though 70% of the films run-time is basically watching chicks being bound and humiliated. Ishii somehow deftly weaves a story of obsession, betrayal, despair, and strength out of a bunch of nudie shots. The ending leaves a bit to be desired (as most Japanese films these days do...) and knocks it down just a bit for me. Overall, I would recommend FLOWER AND SNAKE for sleaze fans who would like to see something a little more "artistically" sexy than your average fetish film - but still wanna see some goods. 8.5/10 (would have been 20/10 if there would have been some explicit snatch shots...)