A Snake of June
A 2002 Japanese erotic thriller with blue-tinted cinematography.
A Snake of June (Japanese: 六月の蛇, Hepburn: Rokugatsu no hebi) is a 2002 Japanese erotic thriller written and directed by Shinya Tsukamoto. It is Tsukamoto's seventh film, distinguished by its blue monochrome look, which was added during post-production. At the 59th Venice International Film Festival, it received the Kinematrix Film Award and the San Marco Special Jury Award.
The story follows Rinko Tatsumi, a young crisis hotline counselor in a caring but sexless marriage to her older, hygiene-obsessed, workaholic husband Shigehiko. One day, she receives an envelope at her office containing candid photos of herself at home, including images of her masturbating and looking at sex toys. The sender is Michiro Iguchi, a former hotline caller she helped recover from suicidal impulses. Iguchi says he will return the negatives if she follows his instructions. Reluctantly, Rinko complies: she walks in public wearing a miniskirt without underwear, then buys and uses a vibrator, reenacting acts Iguchi photographed her doing in private. After this sexual awakening, Iguchi returns the negatives but keeps one final one, promising to give it back if she visits her doctor. There, she learns a mark Iguchi noticed is a sign of breast cancer.
Rinko tells Shigehiko about the cancer and her planned mastectomy, but he reacts with shock. After finding a discarded photo, Shigehiko tails her. He watches her go out in skimpy clothing, masturbate in an alley, and finally strip and orgasm in the rain as Iguchi photographs her from a car window. Shigehiko covertly watches and pleasures himself. Iguchi then lures Shigehiko to a warehouse, attacks him with a long mechanical appendage strapped to his waist, and berates him. Iguchi, who has terminal cancer himself, is furious that Rinko repressed her desires and cancelled her mastectomy due to Shigehiko's resistance. After photographing the beaten Shigehiko and leading Rinko to him, Iguchi dies from his cancer. Rinko rescues Shigehiko, and they return home to have passionate sex as they embrace.
The cast includes Asuka Kurosawa as Rinko Tatsumi, Yuji Kohtari (credited as Yuji Koutari) as Shigehiko, Shinya Tsukamoto as Iguchi, Tomorowo Taguchi, Mansaku Fuwa, Susumu Terajima, Shūji Ōtsuki, Tomoko Matsumoto, and Masato Tsujioka.
- director
- Shinya Tsukamoto
- release_year
- 2002
- country
- Japan
- language
- Japanese
- genre
- erotic thriller
- awards
- Kinematrix Film Award, San Marco Special Jury Award (59th Venice International Film Festival)
Lore & Background
The film follows Rinko Tatsumi, a young crisis hotline counselor in a caring but sexless marriage with her older husband Shigehiko, a hygiene-obsessed workaholic. Her life is disrupted when she receives candid photographs of herself at home, including images of her masturbating and looking at sex toys. The sender is Michiro Iguchi, a former hotline caller she helped recover from suicidal impulses, who blackmails her into performing acts he photographed her doing in secret.
Reader's Guide
A Snake of June is significant for its distinctive visual style—entirely monochrome blue tint applied in post production—and its exploration of repressed sexuality and mortality. The film won two awards at the 59th Venice International Film Festival, marking international recognition for Tsukamoto's work. Its plot intertwines themes of blackmail, sexual awakening, and terminal illness, culminating in a confrontation between Iguchi and Shigehiko that leads to Iguchi's death from cancer and a renewed physical intimacy between Rinko and Shigehiko.
Did You Know?
- The film's monochrome blue tint was applied in post production.
- It won the Kinematrix Film Award and the San Marco Special Jury Award at the 59th Venice International Film Festival.
- Director Shinya Tsukamoto also appears in the cast as the character Iguchi.
- The plot involves a character with breast cancer and another with terminal cancer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is A Snake of June?
A Snake of June is a 2002 Japanese erotic thriller written and directed by Shinya Tsukamoto, serving as the seventh entry in his feature-film catalogue. The plot centres on a repressed hotline counselor whose quiet, sexless marriage begins to fracture after she receives a mysterious envelope at her workplace.
Who is the protagonist of A Snake of June?
The lead is Rinko Tatsumi, a young crisis-hotline operator married to Shigehiko, an older, workaholic husband who is obsessively preoccupied with hygiene. Their relationship is described as caring yet entirely devoid of physical intimacy, a void that the story's inciting incident violently disrupts.
What is distinctive about A Snake of June's visual style?
The entire picture is rendered in a cold blue monochrome, a look that was not achieved on set but applied during post-production colour grading. This uniform tint amplifies the emotional sterility and detachment that define the protagonist's daily world.
What awards did A Snake of June win at Venice?
At the 59th Venice International Film Festival the film picked up both the Kinematrix Film Award and the San Marco Special Jury Award. Those honours helped broaden Tsukamoto's international recognition beyond the extreme-cinema audience he had built with earlier works.
Why is A Snake of June significant in Tsukamoto's filmography?
As his seventh feature, it marks a deliberate tonal shift toward a slower, more psychologically restrained erotic thriller compared to his earlier visceral body-horror projects. The controlled blue palette and intimate domestic setting make it a notable departure while still retaining his signature interest in bodily desire and repression.
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