Moonlight Whispers

Disambiguation: Sasayaki, which redirects here, is the name of episode 8 of xxxHolic: Kei.

Moonlight Whispers
Moonlight Whispers DVD cover
Directed by	Akihiko Shiota
Starring	Tsugumi
Language	Japanese

Moonlight Whispers (月光の囁き, Sasayaki^?) is a 1999 Japanese film directed by Akihiko Shiota.^[1] The film is based on the manga Gekko no sasayaki.

Boy (Takuya) meets girl (Satsuki), they fall in love. When she discovers his fetishes Satsuki brands Takuya hentai (pervert) and leaves him, only to be drawn back by the power his fetishes give her over him.

Reviews

• "Moonlight Whisper buzzes with a quietly disturbing resonance that will stick with you for days." Time Out, New York
• "...unspools like a long kinky episode of 'Dawson's Creek'...succeeds in uncovering moments of delicate nuance." A. O. Scott, The New York Times^[1]
• "Perfectly deranged...Attains a hospitalized lyricism not seen since Cronenberg's Crash" Chuck Stephens, San Francisco Bay Guardian.
• "An audacious blend of perversion and poignancy" Peter Stack, San Francisco Chronicle.
• "discreetly erotic...[director, Akihiko Shiota is] an original new talent." Derek Elley, Variety
• "a singular film. . . passionately romantic."Noah Cowan, Toronto International Film Festival

Awards

• 1999: Special Jury Prize at the 10th Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival^[2]
• 1999: Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award
• 1999: Hochi Film Award (Best New Director for Akihiko Shiota)
• 1999: Locarno International Film Festival, Golden Leopard (Nomination for Akihiko Shiota)
• 2000: Japanese Professional Movie Award
  • Tsugumi (Best New Actress)
  • Akihiko Shiota (Best New Director)
• 2000: Mainichi Film Concours, Sponichi Grand Prize (New Talent Award for Akihiko Shiota)
• Yokohama Film Festival, Festival Prize
  • Best New Director Akihiko Shiota
  • Best New Talent Tsugumi

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Scott, A. O. (November 22, 2000). "Moonlight Whispers - FILM REVIEW; Masochists Always Hurt The Ones They Love -". The New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9401e2dc173af931a15752c1a9669c8b63. Retrieved 2010-07-27. 
2. ^ "YUBARI INTERNATIONAL FANTASTIC ADVENTURE FILM FESTIVAL'99". yubarifanta.com. http://yubarifanta.com/index_pc.php?ct=archive.php&langue=21002. Retrieved 2009-09-20. 

See also

• Sadism and masochism in fiction

External links

• Official website for Sasayaki/Moonlight Whispers
• Moonlight Whispers at the Internet Movie Database
• "月光の囁き (Gekko no sasayaki)" (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1999/dw002690.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-19.