2 days ago
‘A Unique Country in Asia': Sex and politics make for strange bedfellows
The political is personal in Kenji Yamauchi's 'A Unique Country in Asia,' constantly intruding on the most intimate moments.
During the film's opening scene, protagonist Yoko (Ami Chong), a stay-at-home wife and clandestine sex worker, gets so distracted talking about the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that she forgets to finish servicing a client. This being a film that's acutely sensitive to social graces, the john is far too polite to kick up a fuss.
Abe seems to be a constant topic of discussion for Yoko and she doesn't lack for conversation partners. Her days are spent tending to a succession of smartly dressed gents, not all of whom share her distaste for the late politician — as divisive a figure in death as he was in life. A young man gets struck off her client list after outing himself as an active Liberal Democratic Party supporter; Kimura (Kenji Iwaya), an older regular who professes to be a fellow hater, gets treated to special favors.
