Five minutes into R100, our main character is explaining to a tall woman in a trench coat what his favorite part of Beethoven's "Symphony No. 9," is. Mid-sentence, she stands up and delivers the man a roundhouse kick to the jaw. And from that moment on, the madness and manic energy of writer/director Hitoshi Matsumoto's (Symbol, Big Man Japan) latest film continues to pick up momentum, further spiraling outward into something truly unique and twisted. But let's compose ourselves and wind things back a bit.R100 introduces us to department store salesman Takafumi Katayama, played with wide eyed longing by Nao Ohmori (Ichi the Killer). Katayama's wife has long been comatose and he takes care of their young son with help from the boy's grandfather on his mother's side. It's a loving family dynamic that exists in the shadow of the matriarch's impending death. Katayama visits his wife in the hospital daily, bringing her fresh flowers and making promises of the future, but he knows there isn't one. They all know.And so, to help relieve the heartache and make him forget his woes, Katamaya joins a strange club known only as "Bondage." The rules of the club are simple: membership lasts one year in which various dominatrices will visit you at random and you must always be submissive and you may never cancel the contract during that year's span. As wonderful as all this sounds, things take a turn for the worse at the halfway point and Katamaya finds himself, as well as his family, in grave danger.Matsumoto plants us into Katamaya's shoes for nearly the entire run of the film. We explore a Japan that is almost completely drained of color, save for the sickly jaundiced grays and yellows that cover everything. As dreary as that sounds, it makes for the perfect canvas for his parade of unique set pieces and characters to be introduced. We meet these otherworldly dominatrices (The Queen of Voices, The Saliva Queen, The GOBBLER!) one by one and the strangeness never feels alienating because Matsumoto's sense of humor is always present. It transcends any language and cultural barriers by just being outlandishly funny as well as consistently surprising. Without giving too much away, there exists a subplot that calls into question the film's very existence. It's funny and, again, surprising. You're always on your guard during R100, never knowing what will be the next logical step the people in this world take.Building its foundation on the central ideas of David Fincher's The Game and Fight Club, R100 continues to string together ideas seen in western cinema, somehow resulting in a completely original piece of art. Roger Moore-era James Bond, Kill Bill and countless 70s kung-fu films make up the DNA of R100, but rather than coming off as derivative and lazy, it's clear that these nods are meant as a homage to the films that inspired a young, imaginative director to tell new and exciting stories. It's actually kind of sweet in its own deranged way.This is a film you have to see to even begin to fully comprehend anything I can say about it. That said, it is also admittedly, "not for everyone." But if you have a passion for the bizarre and unexpected, this is certainly your movie. R100 manages to be shocking without insulting its audience's sensibilities. It's an exploitation film for the 21st century; a patchwork of ideas from every corner of western (and eastern) cinema made into a single, wonderfully told story of pleasure and grief. Also, there are dominatrices with guns.

In the opening scene we see a woman applying makeup in a restaurant bathroom; she then goes and sits opposite a man who starts talking about Beethoven's 'Ode to Joy'. The next thing we know she stands up and kicks him in the head! He leaves the restaurant but is attacked again. We then learn that this man has joined the 'Bondage' club. Its rules are simple; membership lasts for one year and cannot be cancelled and during that time the member may be attacked or humiliated at any moment and he may not resist in any way: protagonist Takafumi Katayama is one such member. He expects to be attacked when he is out on his own but becomes worried when the women start turning up at his work and approaching his family; humiliation in front of strangers is one thing but work and family (including his young son and comatose wife) are different. Things get even more dangerous for him, and a lot weirder, when one of the women has an accident and dies and the club seeks its revenge.This is one of those rare films that will leave the viewer wondering what they just watched; it was that weird… but in a surprisingly fun way. The viewer will often wonder if what they are watching is meant to be really happening or if it is just a twisted dream. The washed out colour, almost black and white at times, adds to the sense that it isn't quite real as it might be. The random nature of much of what we see makes the film funny, disturbing and in one scene even disgusting. It also means it isn't a film that will be to everybody's taste; some will find the weirdness a delight but I'm sure plenty will find it so weird it is boring. Overall I'd say give it a go; you might like it.These comments are based on watching the film in Japanese with English subtitles.

A businessman, raising a young son with the help of his father in law while his wife lies in a three year long coma, takes out a one year subscription to an S&M club. His life is soon complicated by dominatrices who abuse him unexpectedly, in restaurants, on the street, at his work. Just when you think "where exactly is this going?" things take a whole new turn into weird. By the time the film "climaxes" you'll either have left the audience long ago or be sitting with a wide grin on your face enjoying the spectacle. At a time when American cinema has descended into predictability, special effects, superheroes and remakes it's great to see a genuine imagination at play. It's not for everyone but, if you enjoy creativity, humour and going along for the ride then it's one hell of a ride. Recommended.

This movie was weird, even by Japanese standards.I enjoy Asian cinema, and it is only rare that a movie turns out to be not worth really spending time on watching. And I must admit that "R100" turned out to be one such movie. I managed to get through two-thirds of the movie before I had to give up out of sheer boredom.The storyline was unfathomably lacking appeal and anything interesting. It is about a man who join an exclusive club in which he is committed for one year, without the chance of breaking his contract during that time. The club, which is a gentleman's club, provides bondage services, and the dominatrix women start showing up at odd places, abusing the man.And that was basically it. It was just one step away from being softcore pornography. Sure, there is an audience for this particular movie, but wow was I bored.The above-mentioned storyline was just ridiculous and unappealing. As you sit there and watch the movie, you can't help but think "what is the purpose of this movie?".The scene with the Queen of Saliva is without a doubt one of the most disturbing filmed sequences I have seen in a long, long time. Not that it was bizarre or horrific in any real sense, but the way that it was shot, the contents of the scene, and the use of repetitive shots, it just culminated in something really, really out of the ordinary."R100" is not one of the brightest moments in Japanese cinema history. I didn't even make it to the end of this movie, and I can honestly say that I will not attempt to give this movie a second chance and try to make it to the end. Watched, bagged and tagged...