Cinedelica: DVD Review: Go, Go Second Time Virgin (1969)

Gogo Japanese director Koji Wakamatsu’s experimental film Go, Go Second Time Virgin (1969) is not easy viewing. He mixes an avant-garde sensibility with horrific and sexual themes that will make many viewers extremely uneasy, but this great looking film has a lot to offer more adventurous audiences.

Koji Wakamatsu had no formal training before he started making films in Japan in the early sixties. He worked for the Japanese film studios for a brief period and then decided to team up with fellow Japanese artists such as writer Masao Adachi and put his filmmaking skills to use in “pink films” which were often independent productions featuring nudity and sexual themes. But that’s really a limited explanation of this complicated Japanese film genre. Western critics often assume Japanese pink films are simply pornographic in nature when in fact they’re often unclassifiable films with an avant-garde style dependent more on eroticism and adult ideas than typical western pornography. Japanese filmmakers frequently use pink films to explore subversive concepts about the nature of sex, death and violence. Pink films also use explicit sexual content to express political and social concerns, which will undoubtedly shock and surprise first time viewers.

Go, Go Second Time Virgin opens with the savage rape of a young women (Mimi Kozakura) by a group of young men on the rooftop of a Tokyo apartment building. One of the young men (Michio Akiyama) refuses to take part, but he watches the event with mixed emotions. He’s attracted to the girl, but also deeply disturbed by what he has seen. We soon learn that this is the second time that the poor girl was raped and we also discover that the young man has been the victim of a sexual attack himself. These two damaged youths spend most of the film expressing their anguish and confusion about the horrible events that have shaped their lives while discussing how to end their suffering and vent the inner rage that is eating away at them.

Calling Go, Go Second Time Virgin ahead of its time is an understatement, but there were very few films made before 1969 that dealt so directly and brutally with teenage sexuality and depression. Wakamatsu creatively uses shaky hand-held camera shots to give his film a realistic and gritty edge. He also mixes manga illustrations and photographs into his film that convey a dark pop art sensibility.

Go, Go Second Time Virgin runs barely over an hour, but director Koji Wakamatsu makes full use of the short running time and his low budget. Underneath all the city grime and existential angst in Go, Go Second Time Virgin, there is an impressive film with some unforgettable imagery and it’s accompanied by an amazing experimental score from composer Meikyu Sekai. It also features the brief film debut of the actor turned award-winning director, Takeshi "Beat" Kitano.

The film is currently available on Region-1 DVD in the U.S. from Image Entertainment, but unfortunately the DVD is out of print. It can still be bought used at Amazon but prices vary. The film is presented in widescreen on the disc and it also features an insightful interview with the director Koji Wakamatsu.

For more information about the DVD please visit Amazon.