Adachi's follow-up to Bowl using the figure of a woman suffering from an unusual sexual aliment has often been taken as a controversial allegory for the political stalemate of the Leftist student movement after their impressive wave of massive fiery protests failed to defeat the neo-imperialist Japan-US Security Treaty. The ritualistic solemnity of the charged sexual scenes contribute to the oneiric qualities of Closed Vagina which Adachi would later insist was an open work, not meant to deliver any kind of deliberate political message. - Harvard Film Archive
The movie is set around a small group of characters experiencing relationships which build and crumble before the viewers eyes. The title of the film refers to the belief, expressed by several of characters, that the goldfish retains a memory of something for only three seconds. Tom, one of the principal characters in the film, draws comparisons between this and the human tendency to jump from one relationship to the next, "forgetting" the pain that any previous one might have caused. The film shows complexities involved in straight, gay, lesbian, and bisexual relationships.
A runaway orphan, young Sonora, persists in a menial job mucking stables in Doc Carver's travelling stunt show. Her great wish is to become a death-defying "diving girl," but Doc refuses her pleas. Undaunted, Sonora's gutsy resolve finally convinces him to give her a break. On the brink of stardom, however, a cruel twist of fate threatens to destroy her dream.
While Sergeant John Tyree is home on two weeks leave from Germany, he meets Savannah after he dives into the ocean to retrieve Savannah's purse that had fallen off a pier. John eventually falls in love with Savannah, who promises to write to him until he returns from overseas.
It’s a race to the altar when a steamy romance novelist with a long line of torrid romances – and ex-husbands – sets out to help a single woman ditch her bridesmaid dresses once and for all.
A young actor (Nick) goes to Mumbai for a role as a colonial in a Bollywood costume film. While he records video messages for his senile father in Holland, he also tries to right several social wrongs in Mumbai that cross his path
Dorothy Parker remembers the heyday of the Algonquin Round Table, a circle of friends whose barbed wit, like hers, was fueled by alcohol and flirted with despair.
Sparks fly between a famous model and a farmer with a young daughter when she visits her childhood home. The town is in danger of losing their beloved Santaland festival, but miracles can happen with a little love, family, and faith.
Frank, a tenth grade student, falls in love with his classmate Regine. His father is a well-connected plant manager in the GDR; Regine's mother is a single parent with four children. Regine wants to become a kindergarten teacher, but her grades are poor and she is not allowed to apply for technical college. Frank champions her and seeks an open discussion about these rigid regulations. But his criticism is nipped in the bud.
Logan Chandler, a young MMA fighter seeks to overcome a troubled past and build a new life based on a new faith and a new found love, but is forced back into the fighting world by Hayden Dressler, a local MMA professional.
Moma is a hobo and suffers from depression. Ema is a hobo and had been treated for alcoholism. Moma lives in the abandoned factory premises. Ema lives in the shaft. Moma liked Ema at first sight. Ema liked Moma at second sight.
Two women meet in a sauna. The one, wife of an advertising creative, the other, a rock singer. The publicist, who works on sock ads, has a crazy mother. He is also crazy, by inheritance .
In Kentucky, a transgender woman and her best male friend lament the lack of eligible partners and step across old boundaries of love and romance.
Vanessa has always had trouble in the dating world, never mind now being confined to her home. She soon discovers just how much you can get away with dating via webcam, but is the love she feels true or only a distorted version of reality?
A foreboding glimpse into the life of a girl under pressure from her parents concerning her eating behavior and childish tastes. Ignoring the family festivities, her parents ditch her for a day, leaving her in the care of a neighbor. The girl will regress to the events that have hurt her. "Rabbits have been a symbol of childhood ever since Lewis Carroll's portray of a certain elusive character, but it is in the interpretation of each psyche that it takes a more perpetual shape. In my analysis of its symbolism, the rabbit expresses a female childhood at an age close to puberty, along with the desire to leave the bonds; perhaps a virginal consciousness that remains in the symbol of rabbits to this very day." Laura Maria Isabel Ruiz Ocadiz.
Swain is inspired by Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Fanshawe, features a dreamlike narrative of a young man’s ritualized rejection of heterosexuality, as a mysterious woman in white gossamer pursues him through a ruined landscape.
Feeling low after a bad breakup, Zane agrees to go on a blind date. When he is matched with none other than his old flame, the two of them share in a night of reminiscence, for better or worse.
Victor, a disillusioned 60-something whose marriage is on the rocks, opts to relive the week of his life when, 40 years earlier, he met his true love through a company that allows customers to return to the time period of their choosing.
A seasoned couples therapist comes to realize she might need help with her own marriage after meeting a new pair of young clients.
Ranch hand Stubby Pringle journeys to a Christmas dance, hoping to find his true love, and learns a valuable lesson about the spirit of the holiday along the way.