Based upon the case of Sada Abe, who on May 17 1936 killed and emasculated her lover. These events took place during a period of war, economic depression, public unease and growing militarism, a time of unrest and confusion when public opinion was, at best, unpredictable. Sada, condemned by the law, found herself lionized by the press and hailed as a ‘saint’ of love. Because she committed murder out of passion, the purity of her motivation elevated her from the status of criminal to that of popular heroine.

Legendary director Nobuhiko Obayashi brings his unique vision to the notorious true story of Sada Abe, the Japanese geisha whose life of hardship and sadomasochistic obsession exploded into public scandal in 1936 when she strangled her lover and cut off his genitalia as a keepsake. While the same incident famously inspired Nagisa Oshima’s controversial In the Realm of the Senses, Obayashi’s typically offbeat, visually remarkable telling of the story differs greatly, focusing on the title character’s backstory and adopting an often darkly humorous tone.