Jun'ichirō Tanizaki’s classic Japanese novel about an elderly stroke victim lusting after his daughter-in-law gets a tepid update in Wayne Wang’s first feature since 2019.
By Vadim Rizov
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Fourier Films Given its premise — a post-stroke retiree derives sexual pleasure from his daughter-in-law — the perverse qualities of Jun’ichirō Tanizaki’s classic “Diary of a Mad Old Man” are plentiful. But by the standards of contemporary mores, the 1961 novel isn’t particularly explicit; in his first feature since 2019, Wayne Wang initially takes a different approach, showing retired Utsugi (Lily Franky) furiously masturbating under his desk before ruefully giving up in the first shot. Consciously redirecting Tanizaki for new aims, the film makes thoughtful textual tweaks throughout, but the final product is counterintuitively dull.
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