Audience Member
this is like the Citizen Kane of soft-core pornography, I laughed, I cried, I ejaculated.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/14/23
Full Review
Audience Member
This is one of those movies that people need to be warned about, so: WARNING! THIS FILM CONTAINS GRAPHICALLY-DEPICTED ADULT THEMES INVOLVING HUMAN BEINGS HAVING SEX WITH ROBOTS INCLUDING ROBOT DOGS AND A COUPLE OF RAPES, NUDITY AND FEMALE MASTURBATION! In sort, this isn't a film for the easily offended. It isn't for everyone. It isn't even for a lot of people, and that may be why I'd never heard of it and had no idea to expect from it. Now that we're past all that, though, I can say this: I loved this flick. It's poignant, twisted, shocking, poetic, and unflinching in looking at how screwed up humans can be in adult relationships.
"Maid-Droid" weaves together three stories, each involving a relationship between a robot and a human being. First, there's the tale of a pensioner who has spent his whole life in the company of the eponymous maid-droid and has fallen in love with her. The droid has taken care of him since his teenage years and we see their developing relationship in flashback. She has been unquestioningly devoted to him, and in his old age he is returning the favor. Even though they could not have a sexual relationship, he has been willing to forego that his entire life. Now, her batteries have run down. She can no longer move or speak, and nobody makes batteries for the 60-year old prototype robot. The old man spends his days caring for the inanimate robot and hoping to find a way to bring her back to life. Hint: the story of Pinocchio is important here.
At the same time, a rogue robot of some kind is sexually assaulting women on the streets. A female police detective is out to stop the mechanical offender, but she'll have to figure out how. Asimov's Three Laws come into play through this, as does the question of what love and devotion are and how they can turn into something horrible when they aren't mutual. What exactly do the two genders really want from one another, and what happens when only one side in a relationship gets what it wants or is discarded (literally) when it doesn't? This piece of the film turns unexpectedly poignant; the direction in which it goes took me very much by surprise. Despite the medium being potentially difficult to negotiate, the writer and director bring a sensitivity to the story here that one might not expect.
Finally, there's the story of an otaku who has no idea how to interact with other human beings. His insecurity about himself and his awkwardness are brought to the fore in a scene where he "test-drives" a sex slave robot... and even here, he fails. This story line is played largely for laughs and has none of the sentiment of the other two. Instead, here is where we get a cold, clinical analysis of sexual relationships between men and women and what it really looks like when a man wants a woman for just one thing, as the saying goes.
"Maid-Droid" is pornographic at times, but it does so in an interesting way; it looks at sex through three lenses of devotion, betrayal, and unadulterated selfishness. The bleakness of the otaku's life, the failure of the detective, and the ultimate success of the old man and his maid-droid all contrast beautifully with one another, and by keeping them all separate, director Tomomatsu has given us something that will not only make us look at these three kinds of relationships objectively but make us think about where we stand ourselves in this skewed love-triangle, as it were. Even though this means that the plot lines may not come together, leaving the film seeming a bit disjointed at times, everything does get resolved at the end in a scene that's straight out of fairytales -- a last twist in this otherwise VERY non-traditional film.
If you are comfortable with Japanese pinku, have made it through Miike's "Visitor Q" at least once without having to look away, and could find the poetry among the gross-out value of "Mermaid in a Manhole," you'll have no problem with "Maid-Droid." Otherwise, this flick should be approached with a caution that will be well-rewarded if you don't need to turn it off before you get all the way through. I consider this one a hidden gem. Just make sure the kids are out of the room.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/30/23
Full Review
Audience Member
You could see this film in a number of different ways: as a commentary on human relationships and the expecations of each gender, a commentary on the advance of technology and the repurcussions that may result, as a tragic love story, or simply as a work of softcore porn. To each of these there is a degree of truth. Overall, not bad, but it's not the type of thing I'd recomend to many people. It's strange, about half the film is sex scenes of some sort, and the ending (while sweet) seemed kind've random. Still, it's not even an hour long, so if you're really curious might be worth a look.`
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/06/23
Full Review
Audience Member
someone told me this was the filthiest thing they'd ever seen on netflix streaming. essentially it's asian extreme sci-fi softcore porn for cyborg fetishists. it's kinda disturbing and stupid. also, kinda hilarious.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
01/12/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Maid-droid is one of those Japanese blends of exploitation, pornography, and genre films (science fiction and a touch of horror in this case) that I have almost no idea how to review. It would be pornographic if it was capable of showing genitals and penetration. Since it's not able to show those things, it instead engages in rather realistic simulated sex that descretely covers those aspects. It is a rather misogynistic, bizarre, and sleezy piece of cinema that imagines a future in which androids become not just sex slaves but genuine members of couples--they are capable of inciting and at least pretending to return love. While the film is almost overtly degrading to women both the onscreen images and events and in the philosophies espoused by certain characters, it is still a somewhat compelling exploration of the boundaries of love, the strictures placed upon our sexualities by society, and the neuroses that develop in the face of sexuality. Not for the easily offended, but something that might interest fans of international transgressive cinema and its socio-cultural implications.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/08/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Maid-droid is one of those Japanese blends of exploitation, pornography, and genre films (science fiction and a touch of horror in this case) that I have almost no idea how to review. It would be pornographic if it was capable of showing genitals and penetration. Since it's not able to show those things, it instead engages in rather realistic simulated sex that descretely covers those aspects. It is a rather misogynistic, bizarre, and sleezy piece of cinema that imagines a future in which androids become not just sex slaves but genuine members of couples--they are capable of inciting and at least pretending to return love. While the film is almost overtly degrading to women both the onscreen images and events and in the philosophies espoused by certain characters, it is still a somewhat compelling exploration of the boundaries of love, the strictures placed upon our sexualities by society, and the neuroses that develop in the face of sexuality. Not for the easily offended, but something that might interest fans of international transgressive cinema and its socio-cultural implications.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/27/23
Full Review
Read all reviews
>
