I.K.U. (2000, aka This is Not Love, This is Sex) is precisely the kind of experimental sex video that you’d expect to see showing on a massive wall-screen at some late-night dance-club rave. There is no real plot to speak of, although I.K.U. is overloaded with concept and colorful invention, and the result is a movie that’s tough to watch like a normal film. It’s more of a visual ‘conversation piece’, but it’s most assuredly for adults only!

Set in a world where sexual experiences and orgasms can be transmitted via computer chip (or something like that), I.K.U. wants to infuse a cyberpunk hyperreality to its narrative, but since the movie has barely any dialogue (and none in English) and no subtitles whatsoever, I’m assuming the actual plot isn’t all that important. Only two things matter in this bizarre Japanese export: the sex and the visual…weirdness. The sex stuff surely isn’t bad, though it may be a bit tame for those interested in hardcore porn. The visual wackiness is interesting for about 15 minutes, but then the “weird factor” overtakes the movie, and what you’re left with is one long rock video…with a lot of sex…in Japanese. Certainly not for all tastes, but if this sort of international naughtiness is your cup of tea, you’ll probably appreciate I.K.U.

Nudity Report: Maria Yumeno, Yumeko Sasaki, and Miho Ariga play the three sex robots (at least I think they were robots) with a satisfying soft-core skin charm. Each gal offers several glimpses of both knocker and beaver, and the mild grope-scenes are often quite sexy.

Critics Vote: Hmmm. Underground Japanese sci-fi porn. Not a flick you’re likely to see Roger Ebert review any time soon.

IMDB Summary: 26 IMDb users award this odd film a 5.5/10.

Box Office: Nope.

DVD Info: The movie is presented in a Widescreen aspect ratio, and sound is presented in Dolby Digital Stereo. Special features include a few deleted scenes, a pair of theatrical trailers, a look behind-the-scenes, and a collection of background files on I.K.U.’s characters and concepts.


Written by: Scott Weinberg