Transferring Yoko Ogawa’s “Hotel Iris” to cinema is not exactly an easy task, since the combination of sadomasochistic love and mystery is presented through a rather minimalist prism, which thrives mostly due to its atmosphere than the individual episodes. However, it is with great pleasure that I say that Hiroshi Okuhara has done a splendid job.

Hotel Iris is screening at Osaka Asian Film Festival

Hotel Iris is placed in a somewhat decrepit Taiwanese coast, which tourists and locals seem to share with a number of prostitutes. The hotel is run by a woman in her 50’s who seems set on appearing much younger than she actually is, a tendency that extends to the way she dresses and makes up her face, and the way she conducts herself along younger men. At the same time, she has a rather passive-aggressive relationship with her lonely, half-Taiwanese daughter Mari, which is...