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6.7/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.7/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Oyuki the Virgin remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have a thing for slow-burn character studies where people just sit around and glare at each other, you might dig Oyuki the Virgin. If you’re here for big battle scenes or epic scope, you’re gonna be bored stiff. The movie is mostly just a carriage ride that goes on for a long time.
It’s not exactly light viewing. It’s got that heavy, stifling feeling you get when you're trapped in a room with people you don't really like. The government army is out there somewhere, but honestly, the real war is happening inside that wooden box on wheels.
Isuzu Yamada is doing some serious heavy lifting here. She manages to say so much just by shifting her eyes, which is good because there isn't a whole lot of room for anything else. The way she handles the social tension is actually pretty brilliant. It feels like she’s trying to keep her dignity while the world outside literally burns down.
There’s this one moment where the carriage hits a bump and the silence just hangs there. It lasts about three seconds too long. I found myself checking my phone, then looking back up, and realizing they were still just staring at each other. It’s oddly hypnotic.
It reminds me a bit of the way tension builds in The Costello Case, where the mystery isn't the point—the point is how people react when they have nowhere to run. Nobody is a hero here. They’re just people trying to survive their own bad attitudes.
The ending felt a bit abrupt. Like the director just suddenly realized they ran out of film. It didn’t bother me, though. Sometimes you don't need a neat little bow on everything. It just ends, and you're left sitting there thinking about the ride. 🎞️