First I should note that "Ai no bôrei" ("Empire of Passion" in English) is the first Nagisa Oshima movie that I've ever seen. It struck me as part horror, part drama, as the woman has an affair and then decides to kill her husband, except that he haunts her. What I wondered was whether this was an issue of guilt or grief. Whichever it was, the result is one intense movie. In the interviews with the cast members, they described the movie as a sort of extension of Oshima's previous movie "In the Realm of the Senses". Having never seen it, I can't confirm that. What I can say is that "Empire of Passion" makes outstanding use of the setting - a small village in 1890s Japan - and the characters' sexuality (there's nothing gratuitous about the nudity).
All in all, I would now like very much to see "In the Realm of the Senses" and other movies by Oshima. In the meantime, I recommend this one.
All in all, I would now like very much to see "In the Realm of the Senses" and other movies by Oshima. In the meantime, I recommend this one.