Pink Curtain

Okuyama is a lonely supermarket clerk whose uneventful life takes a disturbing turn when his younger sister Noriko suddenly comes to live with him. As they share the cramped apartment, Okuyama finds himself struggling against forbidden desires that blur the line between affection and obsession, while Noriko remains unaware of the emotional storm brewing behind his polite, restrained demeanor.

Pink Curtain (ピンクのカーテン) was produced by Nikkatsu during its “Roman Porno” era, a period when the studio explored adult-themed stories with deeper emotional and artistic ambition.

Despite the taboo theme of incestuous desire, the film is often noted for handling its provocative subject with a certain restraint and emotional subtlety rather than pure sensationalism.

The cinematography, credited to Yasuo Noda, captures the mundane details of everyday life (small apartments, supermarkets, city streets) and contrasts them with the heightened inner turmoil of the characters, creating a dissonant texture between the ordinary and the forbidden.

Because the film was part of Nikkatsu’s more erotic output, Pink Curtain was less widely reviewed in mainstream film circles at the time, but in recent years it has gained attention among enthusiasts of Japanese cinema for its daring narrative choices and stylistic flaws and strengths.