Who is Matsuko and what are her memories? Mitsuko's a born optimist, a fervent believer in human goodness. The memories, therefore, are inevitably sad as she discovers the yellow brick road to be tough haul. We discover Matsuko through her brother's quest when he hears of her death (she left home some fifteen years ago). Porn star, convict, hairdresser - these are all part of a less than glittering career. This could easily have been an unremitting 2 hours of grimness and probably would have been were this film British. But director Tetsuya Nakashima throws everything into this including the kitchen sink just as he did with his similarly surreal Kamikaze Girls. The result leaves you reeling as the heroine's fate unravels.
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