I came to this knowing very little about it - and found it a gripping, taut drama with a delightfully cutting comedic tone. Indignity, humiliation and shame are heaped and heaped again and again until those on the receiving end of it all seemingly have no choice but to risk dangerous violent action. If at times the script and other aspects of the film feel a little too on the nose, it's still an excellent watch. It seemed to me to raise deeper issues about the dangers of putting societal convention above truthfulness - but that may be more a reflection of what's going on in my life as I watch it; I don't really understand Japenese culture acutely enough to really dig below the surface in that regard. But it's true that much about the plot - especially the repeated abuse of women and the rape of a man (though it may be attempted rape - the film does not make it clear if the act was followed through), along with the climax's reliance on hiddenness all suggest that there is something here about what goes on beneath the surface of societal formality and adherence to codes of politeness.
Review of Boiling Point
