''aka'' is a 2004 Japanese pink film directed by

Shinji Imaoka a.k.a. is a Japanese film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is one of a group of '' pink film'' directors of the 2000s known collectively as the , which besides Imaoka, also includes Toshiya Ueno, Mitsuru Meike, Yūji Tajiri, Yoshitaka ...

. It was chosen as Best Film of the year at the

Pink Grand Prix The or is an annual Japanese film award ceremony which recognizes excellence in the pink film genre. Referred to by Miho Toda as the "Academy Awards of the Pink Film", the ceremony attracts a diverse audience of industry personnel, film scholar ...

ceremony.

Synopsis

The film tells the story of Aiko, a 35-year-old mute woman who works in a bowling alley, and her brief romance with Yoshioka, a younger man who works as a postal carrier. The two meet when Aiko accidentally knocks Yoshioka off his bicycle, and they have a sexual encounter soon after. Aiko begins preparing lunchboxes and giving them to Yoshioka at his workplace as a way of expressing affection, which she cannot do verbally. The film ends in tragedy after Yoshioka leaves Aiko.

Cast

Yumika Hayashi was a Japanese AV idol and ''pink film'' actress. She earned the title of "Japan's Original Adult Video Queen" during a 16-year career in which she starred in nearly 200 AVs and appeared in over 180 films. Hayashi was also a prominent ''pink film ...

as Aiko Fukui * Mutsuo Yoshioka as Yoshio Kawada *

Lemon Hanazawa , a.k.a. Remon Hanazawa, is a Japanese ''pink film'' actress who has also performed in adult videos (AV). She has appeared in award-winning ''pink films'' such as '' Lunch Box'' (2004) and '' Molester's Train: Sensitive Fingers'' (2007). She was ...

as Ikumi Kato *

Kiyomi Itō is a Japanese actress best known for her performances in pink films. She was given Best Actress awards at the Pink Grand Prix for her work in this genre in 1990, 1992 and 1994. Life and career Kiyomi Itō made her film debut in Ryūji Akitsu' ...

as Keiko Chiba * Takeshi Itō as Ishimoto * Yōta Kawase as Arima * Kazunori Sakurai as Matsuo * Hiroshi Satō as Bowling king

Critical reception

The pink film community awarded ''Lunchbox'' top honors at the 2004

. Besides the "Best Film" prize,

was given the "Best Director" title, and

was judged "Best Actress", and

"Best New Actress" for their work in the film. Anglophone pink film scholar Jasper Sharp notes that ''Lunchbox'' differs from the standard pink film in several technical aspects: the sex scenes are not simulated, the sound recording is live, not post-synced, and Imaoka chose to shoot on 16mm rather than 35mm film. Other than these points, Sharp judges the film typical of director Imaoka's work, which is known for its understatement in portraying relationships among characters on the outskirts of society. Of ''Lunchbox'', he writes, "The intensity of the love scenes and the tenderness of the performances make this work especially one of considerable potency."

Availability

Typical of modern pink films, the film has been given various titles in various releases. Originally release theatrically as ''Lunchbox'' ("Obento") or ''Mature Woman: Rutting Ball-Play'', on 2 April 2005 the film was released in Japan on DVD under the title ''Tamamono'' or "Bowling Ball". The film was also released on DVD in the UK by Salvation. The film has also been seen in international film festivals such as the fourth "Nippon Connection" in Frankfurt in 2004, and the

Jeonju International Film Festival Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF, Korean: 전주국제영화제, Hanja: 全州國際映畵祭) is an Asian film festival. It was launched in 2000 as a non-competitive film festival with partial competition. It introduces independent a ...

in South Korea.

References

External links

* {{Pornography 2004 films Erotic romance films Films directed by Shinji Imaoka 1990s Japanese-language films MILF pornography Pink films Shintōhō Eiga films Films shot in 16 mm film 1990s Japanese films 2000s Japanese films