Love/Juice

Chinatsu and Kyoko share an apartment in Tokyo and work as hostesses in a bunny-type bar to pay the bills. The girlish Kyoko gets a crush on the guy in a nearby tropical fish store, but he hardly notices. The lesbian Chinatsu enjoys hanging out and sharing things with her roommate (brushing teeth, doing dope, etc), but doesn't think of her as a sexual partner until a girlfriend dumps her. Suddenly it's make or break time: will they become lovers or never see each other again? Shindo (the 23-year-old granddaughter of veteran director Kaneto Shindo) subtly teases out the sexual and psychological undercurrents - including a very Japanese suggestion of cannibalism - from scenes which never stray far from quotidian realities. Excellent performances and smart, thoughtful direction make this debut a striking account of female friendship at the turn of the century.