Lukewarm Water Under the Red Bridge

With a number of moments and themes reminiscent of The Eel, but with none of that film's tonal assurance, this bizarre, allegorical comedy-drama sees jobless Yakusho leave the streets of Tokyo in search of a golden Buddha which a now dead tramp and philosopher told him lies hidden in a house in a remote coastal town; there he meets and is revitalised by a strange kleptomaniac who vents water by the gallon every time she attains sexual pleasure - which, with him, is often - until jealousy kicks in. Rambling, discursive, uneven, fantastical, sometimes just plain silly, the film has a number of decent gags which, sadly, soon get overused; and quite what it's all about - other than a celebration of women's primeval powers in the age of technology - is up for grabs.