Naoko Otani in Zigeunerweisen (1980)

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Japanese maverick Seijun Suzuki kicks off his late-career Taisho trilogy with Zigeunerweisen (1980), an inscrutable period drama set during the opening days of WWII. While on vacation at the seaside, a Japanese professor (Yoshio Harada) develops an obsession with a beautiful and mysterious geisha (Naoko Otani). His attraction is thwarted, however, by a menacing serial killer who coaxes the professor into a sinister psychological trap. Suzuki decorates his complex opus with beautiful actresses who aren’t afraid to show their stuff. Kisako Makishi, Michiyo Ookusu, and Naoko Otani bare all in scenes that put Suzuki’s arthouse baffler into focus.