Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on January 2011

© 2010 ゴールド・ビュー / スターサンズ / 石岡正人

The AV industry has been getting a lot of attention from mainstream Japanese filmmakers recently. 2010 saw the release of two features based on memoirs by porn actresses, and now we have this documentary about legendary pinku and AV director Tadashi Yoyogi. Director Masato Ishioka made the excellent, sex industry-themed Pain: Scout Man in 2000, but I have to admit I was skeptical about whether this work could transcend prurient interest. To be sure, it offers plenty of (mosaiced) hardcore sex, but there is at least an attempt to get at something real. Yoyochu shows Yoyogi experimenting with hypnosis, “channeling” and hiring non-AV actresses; in a number of his films, the women seem to be enjoying the experience, unfaked for the camera—a situation unheard of in the industry. While the majority of these clips come from Yoyogi’s onani (masturbation) films, Yoyochu also features scenes from his more distressing rape-themed work. Overall, the doc successfully addresses interesting issues of sexuality and identity, but the erotic thrust remains. English title: Yoyochu in the Land of the Rising Sex. (115 min)