Face

Overweight and pushing forty, the virginal Masako (stage star Fujiyama, making a brilliant, belated film debut) has endured life-long putdowns from her mother and sister. Then her mother dies suddenly. Masako skips the funeral and responds to her sister's criticisms by strangling her and doing a bunk with the funeral donations. One step ahead of the police, she sets out to catch up on everything she's missed in life. She meets both kindness and cruelty and spends much of the time fending off (or succumbing to) sexual predators - including kabuki star Nakamura in a cameo as a rapist. Ultimately her journey is a quest to break free of the prison of her own self-image. As such it's hearteningly vulgar, funny and poignant. Not only Sakamoto's best film to date, but also the best Imamura film that Imamura never made.