Skinless Night (1991)

Skinless Night (which borrows its title from a best-selling brand of condoms) centers on the 33-year-old Kayama Mutsuro, who supports his wife, child and a small team of employees by making porn videos. Profit margins are very low, the financier has his own troublesome ideas about the kind of tape he wants produced, the company office isn't an ideal environment for child-minding, and the job constantly throws up new challenges - like shopping for bondage gear or devising the special visual effects for a 'golden shower' scene. On top of everything else, Kayama is heading for a mid-life crisis. The rediscovery of his unfinished student film crystallizes his general sense of dissatisfaction, and leads him to rethink his life and work, to the chagrin of many of his friends, colleagues, and family members. Mochizuki's quasi-autobiographical début feature observes both the workings of the porn sub-culture and the spiritual problems of its central character.