''Fruits of Passion'' (; ) is a 1981 French-Japanese co-production directed by

Shūji Terayama was a Japanese avant-garde poet, artist, dramatist, writer, film director, and photographer. His works range from radio drama, experimental television, underground (''Angura'') theatre, countercultural essays, to Japanese New Wave and "expande ...

and starring

Klaus Kinski Klaus Kinski (, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski 18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991) was a German actor. Equally renowned for his intense performance style and notorious for his volatile personality, he appeared in over 130 film roles in a ...

. The film is loosely based on the novel ''Retour à Roissy'' by

Anne Desclos Anne Cécile Desclos (23 September 1907 – 27 April 1998) was a French literary critic, journalist, and novelist who wrote under the pen names Dominique Aury and Pauline Réage. She is best known for her erotic novel '' Story of O'' (1954). ...

, written as a sequel to the ''

Story of O ''Story of O'' (, ) is an erotic novel written by French author Anne Desclos under the pen name Pauline Réage, with the original French text published in 1954 by Jean-Jacques Pauvert. Desclos did not reveal herself as the author until 1994, ...

''.

Plot

The lead characters of the ''

'' and ''Retour à Roissy'' novels, Sir Stephen and O, are placed in southern China where Sir Stephen owns a casino. Sir Stephen places O in a Chinese brothel for "training" and O is then subjected to a variety of humiliating experiences to prove her

unconditional obedience Corpse-like obedience (, also translated as corpse obedience, cadaver obedience, cadaver-like obedience, zombie-like obedience, slavish obedience, unquestioning obedience, absolute obedience or blind obedience) refers to an obedience in which the ...

. A sub-plot concerns a local rebellion due to the resentment towards Europeans by the local population and a young man desperate to afford O's favors at the brothel.

Cast

* Isabelle Illiers as O *

as Sir Stephen *

Arielle Dombasle Arielle Dombasle (born April 27, 1953)Dombasle's year of birth has been a subject of much debate, and various sources have given dates ranging from 1953 to 1958. is an American-born French singer, actress, director and model. Her breakthrough ro ...

as Nathalie *

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

as Madame * Keiko Niitaka as Aisen *

Sayoko Yamaguchi Sayoko Yamaguchi (Japanese: 山口小夜子, September 19, 1949 – August 14, 2007) was a Japanese model and actress. Early life Yamaguchi was born in Yokohama and graduated from Sugino Gakuen's Dressmaker Gakuin design school in Tokyo. ...

as Sakuya * Hitomi Takahashi as Byakuran * Miyuki Ono as Kasen * Yuka Kamebuchi * Kenichi Nakamura as Le jeune homme, Ogaku * Akiro Suetsugu as Obana *

Renji Ishibashi , born is a Japanese actor. He won the award for best supporting actor at the 15th Hochi Film Award The are film-specific prizes awarded by the '' Hochi Shimbun''. Categories *Best Picture *Best International Picture *Best Animated Picture ...

as Kato * Takeshi Wakamatsu as Le gardien de la maison *

Georges Wilson Georges Wilson (né Willson, ; 16 October 1921 – 3 February 2010) was a French actor and director of stage and screen. He was a significant figure in French theatre during the latter 20th-century, serving as director of the Theatre Nation ...

as Le narrateur (voice)

Production

In a 2017 interview with the French magazine '' VSD'',

looked back on the film with regret: "It's something that hurt me terribly, I was too young to do that, and then Kinski ... he was crazy." She added about Kinski: "He's a guy who crushes the weak, the ugliest thing in the world, someone who loved power, who absolutely wanted to be loved, and who did everything to make sure we did not love him." In his autobiography,

claimed the sex scenes in which he participated in this movie were unsimulated.

Release

The film was released in France on 3 June 1981 as ''Les fruits de la passion'' and as ''Shanhai ijin shōkan - Chaina Dōru'' in Japan with censoring of the pubic areas in November 1981. The USA release as ''Fruits of Passion'' with English dubbing occurred in November 1982. A version in Japanese with English subtitles on VHS tape and DVD was published as ''Fruits of Passion - The Story of "O" Continued'' on 20 June 2000. A digitally remastered version of the film was released in Japan in Japanese, English and French with Japanese subtitles in December 2005.

Reception

Reaction to the film has been mixed, Roberta Novielli described it as "shallow and decadent" and Jasper Sharp calls it "minor Terayama" whose "charms are mainly cosmetic", the costuming, sets and cinematography. Thomas and Yuko Mihara Weisser give the movie three stars out of four but say it is based on the "look" of the film and not on its narrative or coherence.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fruits Of Passion 1981 films 1981 drama films 1981 independent films BDSM in films French erotic drama films French independent films Japanese erotic drama films Japanese independent films 1980s French-language films 1980s Japanese-language films 1980s English-language films 1980s erotic drama films Japanese multilingual films French multilingual films Films based on French novels Films directed by Shūji Terayama Films produced by Anatole Dauman 1981 multilingual films 1980s Japanese films 1980s French films English-language erotic drama films Films based on works by Anne Desclos