Fruits of Passion

Fruits of Passion (French: Les fruits de la passion; Japanese: 上海異人娼館／チャイナ・ドール, Shanghai Ijin Shōkan - China Doll) is a 1981 French-Japanese co-production directed by Shūji Terayama and starring Klaus Kinski.

The film is loosely based on the novel Retour à Roissy by Anne Desclos, written as a sequel to the Story of O.

Plot

The lead characters of the Story of O and Retour à Roissy novels, Sir Stephen and O, are placed in southern China where Sir Stephen owns a casino. Sir Stephen places O in a Chinese brothel for "training" and O is then subjected to a variety of humiliating experiences to prove her unconditional obedience. A sub-plot concerns a coolie rebellion due to the resentment towards Europeans by the local population and a young man desperate to afford O's favors at the brothel.

Cast

• Isabelle Illiers as O
• Klaus Kinski as Sir Stephen
• Arielle Dombasle as Nathalie
• Peter as Madame
• Keiko Niitaka as Aisen
• Sayoko Yamaguchi as Sakuya
• Hitomi Takahashi as Byakuran
• Miyuki Ohno as Kasen
• Yuka Kamebuchi
• Kenichi Nakamura as Le jeune homme, Ogaku
• Akiro Suetsugu as Obana
• Renji Ishibashi as Kato
• Takeshi Wakamatsu as Le gardien de la maison
• Georges Wilson as Le narrateur (voice)

Production

In a 2017 interview with VSD (French magazine), Arielle Dombasle looked back on the film with regret: "It's something that hurt me terribly, I was too young to do that, and then Kinski ... he was crazy." She added about Kinski: "He's a guy who crushes the weak, the ugliest thing in the world, someone who loved power, who absolutely wanted to be loved, and who did everything to make sure we did not love him."

Release

The film was released in France on 3 June 1981 as Les fruits de la passion and as Shanghai Ijin Shōkan - China Doll in Japan with censoring of the pubic areas in November 1981. The USA release as Fruits of Passion with English dubbing occurred in November 1982. A version in Japanese with English subtitles on VHS tape and DVD was published as Fruits of Passion - The Story of "O" Continued on 20 June 2000.  A digitally remastered version of the film was released in Japan in Japanese, English and French with Japanese subtitles in December 2005.

Reception

Reaction to the film has been mixed, Roberta Novielli described it as "shallow and decadent" and Jasper Sharp calls it "minor Terayama" whose "charms are mainly cosmetic", the costuming, sets and cinematography. Thomas and Yuko Mihara Weisser give the movie three stars out of four but say it is based on the "look" of the film and not on its narrative or coherence.