As the married couple, Nishi and Miyuki, gather for an evening of arranging little tiled shapes into various geometric patterns, they share their common bond of love without uttering a single word. The Japanese couple in Hana Bi enjoys two sinfully rich desserts along with their tea. The solemnity of the moment is broken briefly when Miyuki steals Nishi's cake and leaves him with a single strawberry. This causes smiles to break out in the far corners of their mouths. Both of them are making the most of every second these days since Miyuki is dying of cancer.

Nishi, admittedly, has even more on his mind. A police detective, he is being tracked down by loan sharks who want their interest, or else. Moreover, his partner, Horibe (Ren Osugi), has been shot in the line of duty and lives a life of contemplation and desperation in a wheelchair. Horibe, who laments that "work is all I've ever known" and "all this free time is tough," is as lost as Nishi. The depressed Horibe spends his time sitting by the ocean, staring at the waves.

In a movie with sparse dialogue - easily half of the scenes have none at all - and an absolutely minimal plot, the masterful camerawork by Hideo Yamamoto becomes the film's glue. Sometimes paying respect to the actors, the camera stops and observes without moving as you would at an art gallery.

The poignant tale has us eavesdropping on lives of pain and joy. Eventually, it comes to a perfect ending. With the subtlety of the rest of the script, the resolution is not shown, but the staging leaves no doubt.

Set in pre-war Japan, this is a story of lust, obsession and escapism. In order to pay off her husband's debts, Sada (Eiko Matsuda) takes employment as a geisha in Toku's (Aoi Nakajima) brothel, where she meets Toku's husband Kichi-zo (Tatsuya Fuji). He has an insatiable sexual appetite, and before long seduces Sada. They engage in frequent bouts of vigorous lovemaking. Their relationship intensifies until Kichi-zo's jealousy of Sada's clients leads to their marriage changing, shifting their relationship from one of master and servant to one of equals. While living out their sexual fantasies allows them both to escape the harsh realities of life, their desire soon becomes obsession.

The explicit sexuality of the film is integrated into the story and lacks the gratuity and artificial nature of B-grade porn flicks. The cast are 'doing it' for real in this film. Initially this is quite erotic; however, it soon becomes very unsettling as the sexual acts become more extreme, with scenes involving sado-masochism and erotic asphyxiation. A unique and uncompromising film.