An anthology of intimate stories examining sexuality, identity, family pressure, memory, and emotional dislocation.
Story Structure — 6 Plot Phases
Punished Intimacy
A woman is forced into conservative married life. After her husband discovers that she has shaved her pubis, he decides to imprison her as punishment.
Key Events
Forced Conservative Marriage — A woman is forced into a conservative married life.
Pubic Shaving Discovered — Her husband realizes that she has shaved her pubis.
Imprisonment as Punishment — The husband decides to imprison her as punishment.
Marital Confinement — The woman's married life becomes defined by punishment and confinement.
Unrecognizable Motherhood
A mother confronts the presence of her newborn son. She struggles to recognize him as a human creature.
Key Events
Newborn Son Arrives — A mother faces the arrival of her newborn son.
Mother Cannot Recognize Him — The mother struggles to recognize her newborn son as human.
Human Recognition Struggle — The mother's difficulty recognizing the child remains the central emotional conflict.
Exile from Home
A young Bronx break dancer tells his family that he is gay. Their rejection forces him to leave his parents' house and live on the streets.
Key Events
Bronx Breakdancer Introduced — A young break dancer from the Bronx is introduced.
Location: The Bronx
Sexuality Revealed — The young dancer tells his family that he is gay.
Family Rejection — His family rejects him after he reveals that he is gay.
Location: Parents' house
Forced Street Departure — He is forced to leave his parents' house and live on the streets.
Location: The streets
Clan Transgression
Members of a close-knit Japanese clan gather in a sordid sex club. They end up performing an orgy there.
Key Events
Japanese Clan Gathering — Members of a close-knit Japanese clan come together.
Sordid Club Setting — The clan's gathering takes place in a sordid sex club.
Location: A sordid sex club
Clan Orgy Performance — Members of the Japanese clan end up performing an orgy.
Location: A sordid sex club
Echoes of a Relationship
Flashbacks revisit a long relationship. The past supplies the segment's central emotional structure.
Key Events
Long Relationship Recalled — Flashbacks evoke the story of a long relationship.
Past Bond Unfolds — The relationship's history is presented through flashbacks.
Memory Shapes Love — The recalled past defines the emotional meaning of the relationship.
A Past Encounter
A young bride suffers a panic attack before celebrating her wedding. An unexpected encounter with a man from her past helps her.
Key Events
Bride's Panic Attack — A young bride has a panic attack shortly before her wedding celebration.
Unexpected Past Encounter — The bride encounters an unexpected man from her past.
Panic Finds Relief — The unexpected encounter helps the bride with her panic.
Story Breakdown
Punished Marriage — A woman's constrained married life turns into punishment after her husband discovers her pubic shaving.
Conservative Domestic Life — The woman is forced into a conservative married life.
Imprisonment Threat — Her husband decides to imprison her as punishment.
Uncertain Motherhood — A mother struggles to perceive her newborn son as human.
Newborn Arrival — The story centers on the mother's encounter with her newborn son.
Human Recognition Crisis — She cannot easily recognize the newborn as a human creature.
Street Exile — A gay young break dancer loses his home after being rejected by his family.
Bronx Breakdancer — The protagonist is introduced as a young break dancer from the Bronx.
Family Rejection — His family rejects him after he says that he is gay.
Life on Streets — He is forced to leave his parents' house and live on the streets.
Clan Transgression — A close-knit Japanese clan enters a sordid sexual setting and performs an orgy.
Japanese Clan Gathering — Members of the clan come together in the segment's central social situation.
Sordid Club — The gathering takes place in a sordid sex club.
Orgy Performance — The clan members end up performing an orgy.
Recalled Long Love — Flashbacks reconstruct the story of a long relationship.
Past Relationship — The segment focuses on a relationship extending across time.
Flashback Structure — Flashbacks provide the narrative form for recalling the relationship.
Wedding Panic — A bride's panic before her wedding is eased by an unexpected encounter with someone from her past.
Pre-Wedding Panic — The young bride has a panic attack shortly before celebrating her wedding.
Unexpected Encounter — She meets an unexpected man from her past.
Emotional Relief — The encounter helps her with the panic attack.
Madly explores love in all its permutations in six short films from a vibrant group of filmmakers representing Japan, Argentina, the UK, the US, India, and Australia. All forms of love are on display in this anthology. And all manners of feelings expressed from jubilance to depression are done so strongly.
