Mio (Honoka) runs a funeral parlor in a small port town in the Kyushu region of Japan, where heavy rain storms and typhoons are a way of life. Following her fisherman husband's death in one of the typhoons, Mio lives a lonely, almost morose life, dresses in black, wanders the ocean side and does little with herself while she waits for fishermen to die in storms. As a result, she is called "vulture" by the townsfolk. She also becomes sexually charged during the rain storms, but otherwise seems to lack any purpose. A young man, Daikichi (Ryousuke Uchida) begins working with her part-time and discovers her abnormal constitution, which slowly develops romance with erotic undertones, the likes of which I've never encountered onscreen.
HECTOPASCAL is beautifully photographed with sophisticated but harsh tones that nicely complement the rather warped plot, offering the raging ocean and rain as major characters equal to the human characters. Director / co-writer / editor Tour Kamei further solidifies his reputation for literate, emotionally charged dramatics. His work here presents a fascinating world view and a sophisticated image sense, working with what seems like a screenplay difficult to visualize. Despite winning some film festival awards as a director he deserves wider recognition. But what adds unexpected depth here is the extraordinary sound design and music by Nonaka "Masa" Yuichi, featuring a soundtrack that integrates spare musical riffs on guitar backed by a lilting synthesizer combined artfully with the natural sounds captured on film. For example, during one scene a strangely melodic sound of dripping water forms a counterpoint to Yuichi's guitar, beautifully rendered and surprisingly creating suspense in a scene that at first appears to be romantic.
This and Tour Kamei's previous work, Terebi bakari mi teruto baka ni naru? (2007) a.k.a. KILL UGLY TV, also starred Honoka, who now goes by the name Ai Shimomura. She shines in HECTOPASCAL. These two films signified the actress' break from starring in several Japanese AV / hardcore videos. Her performance as Mio is exquisitely moody and nuanced, revealing the character's emotional revival with subtlety, and to very good effect especially in the movie's closing scenes. Other performers do admirably.
