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Odd Obsession

Play trailer Poster for Odd Obsession 1959 1h 36m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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73% Tomatometer 11 Reviews 78% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
A mostly impotent man (Ganjirô Nakamura) who is aroused by jealousy tempts his beautiful wife (Machiko Kyō) into an affair with a doctor.

Critics Reviews

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Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader 10/23/2007
Ichikawa's more straightforward narrative method doesn't do justice to all the ironies, but this is a still a singular and memorable movie. Go to Full Review
Elliott Stein Village Voice 08/28/2006
One of his most striking films. Go to Full Review
Geoff Andrew Time Out 01/26/2006
The film cannily shifts through different points of view. Go to Full Review
Tim Brayton Alternate Ending Dec 29
4/5
It's a bit exhausting to watch, and if the point of the movie is to bring our attention to our aging bodies' inability to keep up, it succeeds. Go to Full Review
Pauline Kael KPFA (Berkeley, CA) 10/17/2023
Ichikawa’s cold, objective camera observes the calculations and designs, the careful maneuvers in lives that are fundamentally driven and obsessive. Go to Full Review
Dick Gima Honolulu Star-Bulletin 03/16/2023
It's a nearly perfect film version of Tanizaki's best-selling novel ably directed by Kon Ichikawa. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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walter m @Harlequin68 07/16/2008 [font=Century Gothic]In "Odd Obsession," Kenji Kenmochi(Ganjiro Nakamura) is worried about not being able to please his younger wife, Ikuko(Machiko Kyo), sexually anymore, now that he is getting older. One possible solution he has is to use Dr. Kimura(Tatsuya Nakadai) as a focus for his jealousy. Complicating matters is that Dr. Kimura is treating Kenji, while trying to keep it secret from his wife, so as not to worry her. Complicating matters even further, is that Kimura is hoping to marry Toshiko(Junko Kano), his grown daughter...[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]Directed by Kon Ichikawa, "Odd Obsession" is a perversely satisfying morality tale. As with any movie of this subgenre, there is a line that is crossed, in this case it involves desire. While it is not wrong for Kenji to want to satisfy his wife, he also has to remember that growing old is a natural part of life and it is best to do so gracefully. Remember that this movie was made long before the invention of Viagra but practically foresees one of the more popular uses of the internet.[/font] See more 07/15/2008 The beginning is awesome. The end is awesome, and somewhere in the middle is the best train scene ever. See more Read all reviews
Odd Obsession

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Movie Info

Synopsis A mostly impotent man (Ganjirô Nakamura) who is aroused by jealousy tempts his beautiful wife (Machiko Kyō) into an affair with a doctor.
Director
Kon Ichikawa
Producer
Masaichi Nagata
Screenwriter
Keiji Hasebe, Kon Ichikawa, Junichiro Tanizaki, Natto Wada
Distributor
Edward Harrison [us]
Production Co
Daiei Kyoto, Daiei Studios
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
Japanese
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 23, 1959, Wide
Runtime
1h 36m
Sound Mix
Mono
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)