Why Life Is Worth Living

The film virtually opens with a false lead, showing a poster for for Shiseido cosmetics – the kind of sign we are accustomed to seeing in display windows of perfume shops or department stores. The upper portion of the poster is painted over with the title of the film and the lower with the name of the filmmaker. The poster shows the beautiful and complacent face of a woman, at its center her large Asian eyes, a deep and trusting gaze. A hand reaches into the image – probably that of a man – trailing a long transparent strip...