Scent of a Spell

Though there are several films by Toshiharu Ikeda in my queue (including Mermaid Legend that I was gutted to miss at the cinema) Scent of a Spell (1985) was to be my first film I'd seen by Ikeda and one of two in the latest tranche of Third Window’s Directors Company releases. It was a difficult decision: Scent of a Spell or Mermaid Legend first? but knowing how the latter has a ferocious reputation even if little seen, well, start with the potential diamond in the rough was my approach. Rightly or wrongly.  

On a rainy night home, Esaka (Johnny Okura) dives into the river to save Akiko (Mari Amachi) from suicide. Finding Mari to be scared of her abusive ex-husband she stays with him, a relationship blossoms, only there is more to her past than Esaka realises...

Like Bumpkin Soup, Scent of a Spell is a Roman Porno made for Nikkatsu but picked up by Directors Company because it would not be an easy sell to many. As is pointed out, Roman Porno are not sex films exactly, instead the allowance for "give us some skin and do what you like" often provided filmmakers with the opportunity to do things that are different, and Scent of a Spell is more psychological drama than sex film. Yes, there is sex, nudity and the obligatory hazing out of any genital areas, yet the sex is arguably quite explicit but not sexualised, rather sensual, and if relatively explicit (or as much as is possible allowed by the fuzzy images) that is inherent to the scenes and not the point of them. Sex as as a sensual act between two human beings, an emotional act; this is very far away from the kind of images in Blonde Animal, for instance, and I use that comparison intentionally; in the early Roman Porno that is Blonde Animal, the film often uses dull long takes, groaning affairs with a static camera; whereas Scent of a Spell may be unafraid to use long takes but the effect is very different. In one particular scene, the camera barely cuts at all, but the characters move about Esaka’s apartment, and their sexual engagement is not groaning, groping nonsense. Quite the opposite.  

It is perhaps the difference between the art of eroticism and just skin for the sake of it.

Having gotten some of the Roman Porno definition out of the way, mainly to give a sense of why it should not put you off, time to concentrate on the film itself, the characters and the narrative. It’s very much a chamber piece, focusing mainly on Akiko and Esaka, though it plays out as a thriller. As their relationship deepens and Esaka desires to marry this woman that has entered his life, so he starts to learn of Akiko’s life with her husband. We are also introduced to a strand of jealousy in his attitude to Akiko, after introducing her to his friends. This jealous turn of mind then starts to pick up on events introduced to him in passing, that cause him to worry that Akiko may be damaged and, more worryingly, dangerous.  

The film takes some time to develop and arguably one aspect of the film that could have been improved upon is the pacing. Scent of a Spell takes a while to find its focus. Tonally, it has no issues and is rather assured, but in terms of where the story and characters are going, it treads a little water; equally when Esaka starts to become suspicious of Akiko – and as an audience we are given insights that Esaka is not – I wasn’t entirely convinced by it. It’s a difficult thing, jealousy and suspicion and why a character may feel it, the difference between believing it and it finding it contrived is such a slender margin and I never quite fully believed it. Esaka is not really built up enough as a character to allow us to believe his terrible suspicions.  

Yet the film is still strong enough to stand on its merits, the performances from the two leads are excellent, and there is a lot of quality in the visual aspects of the story: Akiko and her motif of sparklers glowing and burning out are extremely effective. There’s a lot here to admire and to enjoy; how it treats sexual and emotional relationships  - when at its best -  is superb, and Mari Amachi as Akiko has an uncanny ability to seem both vulnerable and voluptuous, though the central conceit of the suspicions never quite resonates. It has asides too that curiously enrich the film, but are almost throw away observations on life at the time; Akiko walking out of a bar drunk and urinating in the middle of the street, stumbling as she goes; then immediately she passes a man doubled over vomiting. The film does not show life as a nice and pretty thing but acknowledges the uncomfortable and the unpleasing; such as we see in Akiko's description of her parents.

The film reaches for the stars and even if it does not quite make it, it is richer for having tried. I’d rather a noble attempt that ends up with moments that really impact you, rather than a solid yet insipid trundling down the middle of the road. So here in Scent of a Spell there are glimpses of a great film, and you can understand why Directors Company picked it up. It’s a film that you think will really resonate with some people who will love it. I loved moments of it, was frustrated by others as I could not fully commit to the premise, but I certainly think it’s a more intriguing and exciting film than most in the genre. This is a flawed film with moments of genius, and that's okay by me.