The latest addition to Third Window Films directors company series, Love Hotel, opens in a neon-lit room at a salacious hotel, where Tetsuro Muraki (Minori Terada) lays on the bed as he waits for somebody to arrive. What may seem like a casual hook-up is instead a moment of despair, culminating from Tetsuro’s business going bankrupt, and the yakuza collecting his mounting debt by sexually assaulting his wife. The guilt-ridden Tetsuro intends to commit suicide when the night is over, and it will all begin with the arrival of part-time sex worker Nami (Noriko Hayami).
Two-years later, Tetsuro has divorced his wife out of a belief that it is the honourable thing to do. Working as a taxi driver, he crosses paths with Nami once more as she tries moving on from her past occupation. Following this chance meeting, the pair begin a complicated relationship.
Released the same year as his excellent film Typhoon Club, director Shinji Sōmai brings alive Takashi Ishii’s screenplay for a heartbreaking tale of regrets tearing apart these lost souls. The central performances magnificently convey the tragedy and turmoil the lead duo carry, and how they act explosively to cover up how hurt they truly are.
In the role of Tetsuro, Minori Terada brings alive a man who regrets the horrific fallout from his actions, believing that the best possible direction is to push away his ex-wife despite her protestations. Meanwhile, Nami is trying to recapture a feeling that she experienced on the fateful night their paths crossed, which made her feel truly alive and offered an escape from her life. Noriko Hayami magnificently captures this engaging figure, and effortlessly sells a one-sided monologue heartbreakingly delivered over the phone
The more time is spent with these tragic characters, the more evident it is how that night impacted them both, directing them to their present situations and beliefs that they do not deserve happiness. Yet, through it all, these self-hating people find comfort in their shared company. As this pair lay within each other’s arms, their troubled histories melt away and they momentarily feel at peace. It is that comfort within such troubled circumstances which makes Love Hotel so impactful.
Love Hotel is out now on Third Window Films Blu-Ray
