New Restoration

“Refreshingly free of moral panic and stigma around sex work, or sexuality in general … A New Love in Tokyo​’s [comedy] comes through in its sharp timing and the irresistible charm of its protagonists.”

Natasha Gornik, Screen Slate

A breakthrough for Takahashi Banmei, one of the co-founders of the Directors’ Company alongside Somai Shinji and Kurosawa Kiyoshi, A New Love in Tokyo is a film about the continuities between nightlife and working hours, sex work and relationships, theatre and job performance for two young women (Suzuki Sawa and Kataoka Reiko) and the friends, johns, and subs they know. While the film was marketed in connection to Murakami Ryu’s Tokyo Decadence, the film is closer to an updated geisha house narrative, with its interest in charting societal thresholds and camaraderie between women. Enthusiastic, collaborative, and highly choreographed set pieces are present, be it a carefully paced bondage scenario or a casual hang out scene. Photographer Araki Nobuyoshi’s still images, seen in montage, are key to the film’s sensitive mix of erotic and everyday material. The refined, at times flamboyant cinematography is by Kayano Naoki (Shall We Dance?).

In Japanese with English subtitles

“This freewheeling, hedonistic film deals frankly and entertainingly with [its subject matter] … A New Love in Tokyo​’s style is liberating.”

David Stratton, Variety
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