Trisha Ray Ganguly

SPOILER ALERT: This is the third thing I watched recently where Takehiro Hira gets royally screwed over by the cruelty of scriptwriters. In the show Shogun he is betrayed at the last minute by Ochiba. In Giri/Haji, he's trapped in a loveless marriage but cannot leave his country/culture behind for the sake of a Jewish/Scottish lady detective even though she saves his life like 10 ten times. Now in Lost Girls and Love Hotels he tries to find real love, only to end up losing the girl and also a thumb. I don't know how to watch anything with him in the cast anymore without the fear of heartbreak and depression happening at the end. And yet I keep rooting for him each time, knowing that he is the Sean Bean of the Japanese film industry---destined for tragedy literally every time. EVERY. TIME. Having said that, this movie is beautifully shot, more emotionally painful than erotic, more raw than vulgar, more sweet than sad. Anyone who went through a time of being lost and hopeless in their lives will see it and have PTSD flashbacks, because which of us hasn't looked for love in the wrong places? Finally, I too want to be reborn like Margaret the main character, but next time into a life where Takehiro Hira can survive and have a peaceful ending in at least one movie. Thanks for reading. Wish me luck.