Go,Go,Second Time Virgin

Japanese avant-garde soft porn from maniac genius Koji Wakamatsu, who produced dozens of surreal, bleak pink films in the late sixties. Less claustrophobic and significantly more watchable than the almost unbearable "Violated Angels" (Wakamatsu's most famous film in the West), "Go, Go Second Time Virgin" is the bracingly nihilistic tale of two disillusioned youths, mutually victimized and devoid of hope, who form a fatal alliance. He's a bespectacled outcast prone to murderous violence, she's a multiple rape victim. Don't look for a happy ending in this one. The best movie I can recall that takes place almost exclusively on a single city rooftop. Also, my favorite use of repetition in a title outside of "Faster, Pussycat! Kill, Kill!" An exclamation point and it would be perfect.

Some time ago I picked up Jack Hunter's excellent book about Sex, Blood And Madness in Japanese Cinema, Eros In Hell. The book's second chapter deals solely with the works of Koji Wakamatsu. I was intrigued by the exciting titles and images of such films as Go, Go Second Time Virgin, Violated Angels, and The Embryo Hunts In Secret. I assumed that I would have to hunt down Wakamatsu's videos on the grey market but fortunately Image Entertainment has released two of his better known films on DVD and VHS. I can only hope there are more to come. Made in 1969, Go, Go Second Time Virgin is a bleak downwardspiral into the depths of two empty souls, one a repeated gang-rape victim the other a teenager who was forced to endure sexual molestation, possibly from his parents (who his attackers are is never made clear). After the girl is raped a second time she develops a strange bond with the molested boy who angrliy stood by while she was raped. She begs for him to kill her. He tells her that he will but not before he takes her on a "trip". The "trip" is a to a local apartment which holds the four mutilated corpses of his attackers. He tells us that he has killed the "filthy pigs". While most of the film is in black and white this powerful sequence (among a few others) is shown in full color. Afterwards the girl claims to love the young man but she still begs for death. She wants to die because she wants to kill. ....Clearly, Go, Go Second Time Virgin is not for all tastes, but it should please those who crave brave and experimental films. Image/American Cinematheque should be commended for releasing this rareity. Both the image and sound quality is surprising clear, though the widescreen framing cuts a little off the sides and the subtitles are a bit difficult to read. Meikyu Sekai's music score is one of the best I have ever heard. The DVD features a 50-minute interview with Wakamatsu in a small Japanese bar. Much of the interview is quite interesting. He recounts his time working for the yakuza, how he came to be a filmmaker, and his near-death experience making a film in Palestine. One of the best films I have seen this year.

I bought this DVD based on extremely inaccurate reviews on this website. I just wished I would have seen it before deciding to own it.

I condone avant garde, experimental, or artistic films. But this movie is absolutely worthless. Uninteresting, plotless, and vainly attempting to be intellectual, i'm embarassed this DVD sits on my shelf. I can think of no reason to own this movie except to be able to say you like a movie that no one has seen before.