Does your town have a pervert outreach program? It probably does, and hopefully you’ve either discovered it or ignored it depending on preference. To be fair, “pervert” is a pejorative term. Perhaps a better one is “sexually curious.” Personally, I do not have a problem with the sexual proclivities of anyone so long as they take place among mature, consenting, and at least reasonably aware individuals.
That said, there are things I will not consent to and one of them is being peed on. You wanna be somebody’s sweet loo? That’s up to you, but I will W.C. you later.
Misa the Killer (Kawase Chisako) is an underground star. She’s a professional wrestler with a minor following and her own theme song. Oh, and she’s not shy about singing it loud and proud to any audience who cares. “Not shy” would be the operative terms here as Misa is spotted by a “talent scout” of sorts and asked to try out her skills as a BDSM dominatrix.
Of course, nobody starts as a dominatrix. That’s top-o-the-food chain in the BDSM world. A strict apprenticeship begins when Misa encounters Club H’s head dominatrix Kanon (Toriumi Nagisa). Kanon really looks the part. Tall, stern, stoic, like some sort of sexual governess, she’d sooner remove your nutsack with a riding crop than betray any emotion other than contempt. Misa turns to soup at Kanon’s orders; their encounter finishes with Kanon peeing on Misa. The film is shot documentary style, so all of this is caught in the most embarrassing way possible: up close, uncomfortably long, and occasionally out-of-focus.
Out of curiosity – are dominatrixes (for the life of me I have no idea what the plural of that word is – dominatrices? Dominatrixen? ) anyway, is a dominatrix always ready to pee on somebody
at a moment’s notice? Is that part of the dominatrix code to be well hydrated at all times? Huh. Does a dominatrix even use a bathroom? I mean, when they have to go, do they just summon a submissive?
Point to all of this is Misa has to earn her stripes by being humiliated in public again and again. Only then has she earned the right to dominate others. I’d say that’s not how this works, but I’m forgetting fraternities, aren’t I? Scratch that; this is exactly how it works.
Safe Word gets points for originality and subject matter; BDSM is rarely a subject seen on film that doesn’t require an age verification screen. And, with that, the film has to be just tame enough not to be considered porn. That said, I found Safe Word to be little more than a subject introduction. This isn’t Eyes Wide Shut where the “hero” is clearly in over his head too much too soon. In Safe Word, Misa only extends to the point of her obsession with Kanon; she can always say “screw this” and leave. Also, I got the feeling that with proper instruction (and the right equipment), I, too, could be a dominatrix. That doesn’t seem quite right, now does it?
There once was a man from Moscow
Who went to a club and dropped trou
When a mistress clamped his balls
He suddenly got phone calls
Responding “Sorry, I’m a little tied up right now”
Not Rated [read: R], 94 Minutes
Director: Kōji Shiraishi
Writer: Kōji Shiraishi, Kohei Taniguchi
Genre: Adult hobbies
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: “I always wanted to know about BDSM but was afraid to ask”
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: The kind of people who think sex is a sin
