Snakes and Earrings (2008) User Reviews

Yoshitaka get naked, tattooed, and drunk

[sitenoise · 6/10 · 12 May 2009]

For those who've seen "Noriko's Dinner Table" and wondered what happened to the younger sister played by Yuriko Yoshitaka ('just a nameless girl, walking toward the center of the city'), it may come as no surprise to see her show up naked, tattooed, and pierced in this tale of middle-class urban ennui in the underground. From one dreamworld to another. She doesn't have the sexual maturity to make the S&M stuff in this film remotely erotic and the two guys she bounces between, two tattooed punks, while giving us a multi-layered view of that world, are little more than posers. Their poses do reach beyond stereotype and the film tries to be cool towards them, demonstrating a reasonable awareness of the subject matter, but it comes up short in execution. I like Yoshitaka a lot, think she is a promising young actress, but don't think she is suited for this role. Snakes and Earrings is far more modern and realistic/relatable than a CAT III film, probably because its story comes from a teen-aged girl's prize winning novel rather than the sexist fantasies of old men, but while the film has a contemporary world view it doesn't have the story punch necessary to elevate it much beyond voyeurism. For those just interested in seeing Yoshitaka naked there's plenty of that but it's not enough to make this film more than a guilty pleasure.

decent teen drama

[A_Llama_Drama · 6/10 · 20 April 2021]

Young Rui feels nothing until Ama chats her up at a bar in Tokyo. Fascinated by his numerous piercings and his split tongue, she begins a relationship with him and body art. Upon meeting Ama's cold friend and artist, Shiba, she slips into a love traingle that's more a square: Ama (kind and needy), Shiba (cold and powerful) and the various piercings and tatoos she collects on her body.

The plot is nothing new, but perhaps the added factor of BDSM as a woman's sexual awakening is new? While on the street and in public, Ama is violent towards those who would hurt her (and "nice" under the sheets), she allows Shiba to love her only through violence and degradation. She also enjoys torturing herself and dreams of splitting her tongue to please Ama.

Love, sex, life and pain are all explored throughout. What does it mean to live a life? More importantly, what does it mean to live a life with a lover? How do we seperate desire from necessity? Is pain a marker of a life lived? All three main characters are struggling to find a meaning and connection. A revelation towards the end suggests even Ama was insecure about his place in the world, forcing Rui to confront her actions, and the relationships she has with both men.

The acting, mainly from the young cast, is fine, but nothing amazing. Shiba and Ama don't get enough time to develop more than the different facets of Rui they represent, as the movie is played through her eyes. Yuriko Yoshitaka (Rui), does well as the conflicted protagonist, but dips into the hysterical well too often towards climax (a common trait in Japanese performance) that may be off putting for many western viewers. Still, if you're a fan of body art and the lives of young Japanese Yankee, you'll probably have a blast with this.

Horny and depressing

[SpicyRamenDude · 6/10 · 11 April 2022]

I went in for the smut scenes but was smacked with depression lol The style and vibe of the characters were cool. It was interesting to watch. Based on the other reviews, it makes me want to read the book. It right up in my alley with the josei/seinen manga vibe. It got pretty interesting at the second half. I wanted to see the choice she's gonna make between the two but there was a good twist. I wanted more at end but the movie said no.

above average movie

[brumms78 · 7/10 · 19 June 2023]

The story behind this movie was incredibly facinating.

The acting was pretty good an I believed what they were trying to portray to me.

I can deff understand how many people won\t like this movie because they are stuck in their "hollywood happy ending" ways. They think that all movies should be rainbows and balloons and happily ever after. Those people should stick to their north American or disney movies because they have been trained like sheep to only enjoy these types of movies. For those with a higher IQ and a little more depth, give this movie a shot as it was a surprising look into the life of the main character and her journey to find herself

7.1.

Interesting subject matter, but extremely bland characters

[marlee-4 · 4/10 · 9 June 2012]

I see myself as someone who's reasonably capable of separating movies from the books they're based on, but in this case it is just too difficult.

The book Snakes and Earrings is actually pretty good. The story is about a girl who suffers from some kind of depression that makes her so numb she has to feel pain to feel alive. The film is about a really annoying girl who just seems... for lack of a better word: stupid.

I'm not gonna spoil the plot, I'll just say that I found the film an interesting example of how a good story can turn bad when the filmmaker forgets to focus on characters and their wants and needs. Frankly, all of the characters in the film version were extremely underdeveloped, especially the female one. I don't want my time back, I'm just a bit disappointed.

Snakes And Earrings (2008)

[SnakesOnAnAfricanPlain · 8/10 · 13 September 2012]

Like the wonderful book this was based on, the film is a small little gem. One that revolves around just three people. It explores the 'dark' world they come from, full of piercings, tattoos and rough sex. The film is very sensual but doesn't exclude passion from proceedings. Everything in the film is detailed as some form of release from the suffocating world each character finds them self in. Shot with utter simplicity, the development of the main tattoo is the perfect metaphor for the development of the female lead, as she becomes entwined with demons. The shots are calm and well considered, each one bringing to life a darker world in an accessible way. An excellent adaptation.

So, she's a whore... and?

[ethSin · 1/10 · 17 April 2009]

This movie is about a girl falling in love with tongue piercing, tattoo, and binge drinking.

The movie starts with the girl meeting a guy called "Ama" in a club, who has a 'split tongue'. Being a whore she is, she sleeps with him that night, and they start going out. She really likes the lizard-like 'split tongue', so she gets her new boyfriend to take her to a tattoo/piercing parlor. There, she sees cool tattoos they offered, and wants to get one as well. Being a whore she is, she sleeps with the tattoo guy for payment. Then keeps going there for more sex and slowly getting the tattoo done.

Eventually, the tattoo is completed, and she loses purpose in life. What she takes up next is binge drinking. Then Ama suddenly died, and although she didn't give a crap about him and enjoyed getting banged by the tattoo guy every week, she loses her mind for an unknown reason. Then it turns out the tattoo guy probably raped and killed her boyfriend...

Yeah, the script is a joke. I think the lead character is supposed to be somewhat smart and slightly a rebel, but the actress who played it was totally unconvincing, and spoke like a really dumb "gyaru". The result of this godly combination of crappy script and actress is that the leading character is a dumb whore, and nothing more. She didn't know the name and age of the guy she lived with for months, and apparently didn't care who killed him.

Although the actor who played tattoo guy was somewhat good, this movie was a pointless waste of time. I have no idea what the director was trying to express in this film. Maybe it was just a softcore porn.