Starring - Tatsuya Nakadai (Wicked City), Aiko Nagayama (Japan Sinks), and Shigako Shimegi (Temptation by Night)
Release Date - 1973
Genre - Fantasy
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (screener)
Rating (out of 5):
It's been far too long since I viewed and reviewed a good Asian flick. Sadly, it looks like it will be a little while longer before I get to see another good one. Sometime ago I received a press release for an animated Asian fantasy film from Japan that was originally released in 1973. The film, Belladonna of Sadness, was getting a brand new blu release. I was reluctant at first to check it out because it is the third film in a trilogy known as the Animerama trilogy. After thinking about it for a few days I decided to fire the gun and request a review copy. They were kind enough to end the film my way to check out. Thanks guys!
The film begins with two peasants falling in love and struggling to support themselves. The king starts demanding tribute and requests 10 cows where they only have one. Unable to pay, the king rapes the young girl while her husband is forced to watched before letting his loyal subjects have their way with her. She is never the same and soon a demon/ghost penis pays her a visit to convince her to accept Satan. She soon accepts when her husband is forced to leave for war and she is left alone. Soon she is thriving in the village while all the men are away. The local queen becomes jealous and when the king returns she has her banished. Her husband returns as well and is now afraid of her. She is driven from her village and is no longer welcomed in her own home. She fully welcomes Satan at this point and is then granted powers to exact revenge.
I knew Belladonna would be a different kind of animated film. I grew up watching animated films and that is something that has carried over into my adult life. I knew it was going to be erotic in nature but that was the extent of it. The voice acting is strange to say the least. I have seen thousands of animated shows and films before with most of them all showing a wide range of emotions by just using their voice. Sadly, the voice cast as this one show no emotion and just spew their words forth with no conviction or heart. This is easily one of the weakest voiced animated films I have ever seen. The story for this one is very rich and fun but it should not have been stretched out as long as it was. The woman getting raped, turning to a cock-headed demon to accept Satan and then becoming the thing she feared to begin with. This was great but the way it was told left no room for the viewer to enjoy just the story. If the story was told in a more linear fashion then I would have enjoyed it a hell of a lot more but the story is lost with the way the animation is handled. Finally, this animated film uses different styles of animation to tell the tale but it renders the story. The story tells itself but the animation is supposed to help it along but the way this one is put together prevents that. Overall, Belladonna of Sadness is not the film I was expecting. I was expecting some sleazy scenes wrapped around a story about Satan and weak will. Sadly, it's hard to follow and the different styles of animation clashes. 
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