The Films of Hisayasu Satô: Volume #2 - An Aria on Gazes / Love - Zero = Infinity - Standard Edition - Blu-ray Region Free

THE FILMS OF HISAYASU SATÔ – VOLUME 2

From the 1970s through the 1990s, transgressive genre filmmaking flourished across Asia, particularly in Japan where the “Pinku Eiga” movement became one of the most widely produced styles of cinema in the country. Many emerging filmmakers used the format as an opportunity to experiment with storytelling and visual style, creating work that was often more daring and unconventional than other genre films being produced around the world. The Pink Line series presents new restorations of notable works from key Asian filmmakers, with a special focus on Japan’s Pinku Eiga tradition.

As filmmaker Hisayasu Satô developed his distinctive style, he explored recurring themes of isolation, melancholy, voyeurism, and human connection. In this second installment of THE FILMS OF HISAYASU SATÔ, Pink Line presents two of his most discussed early-1990s features, newly restored from their original 35mm camera negatives and approved by the director.

In AN ARIA ON GAZES (aka The Bedroom), an exclusive Tokyo club offers visitors the opportunity to anonymously explore their private fantasies as the boundaries between reality and imagination gradually begin to blur. One of Satô’s most stylistically ambitious works, the film features a memorable performance by Kiyomi Itô (Muscle) and an appearance by controversial figure Issei Sagawa.

In LOVE – ZERO = INFINITY, Satô examines themes of loneliness and human connection in the story of two troubled individuals whose lives become unexpectedly intertwined. Tōru Bessho plays a solitary man hired by a doctor to discreetly observe his mysterious wife. As their paths repeatedly cross, the tension between curiosity, obsession, and emotional vulnerability begins to intensify.

Film Details

Directed by: Hisayasu Satô
Starring: Kiyomi Itô, Momori Asano, Kyôko Nakamura, Issei Sagawa, Takeshi Itô, Ryûmei Homura

1992 / 1994 • 127 min (combined) • 1.85:1
Japanese 1.0 Mono

Additional Info

• Region Free Blu-ray
• Newly translated English subtitles for both films
• Reversible cover artwork
• 40-page perfect-bound book (limited edition only) with essays by Jasper Sharp, Hayley Scanlon, and Filipe Furtado

AN ARIA ON GAZES

• Commentary track with Asian cinema historian Pierce Conran & critic James Marsh
• I’m Being Watched (14 min) – interview with director Hisayasu Satô
• Lost in the Bedroom (12 min) – interview with actress Kyôko Nakamura

LOVE – ZERO = INFINITY

• Commentary track with Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp
• Unidentified Followed Objects (UFOs) (10 min) – interview with director Hisayasu Satô
• Walking in Circles: Part 2 (24 min) – locations featurette with director Hisayasu Satô