"Manji starts with Sonoko, a wealthy bored housewife who enrols in art classes to pass time. At school Sonoko meets Mitsuko, a young heiress, and quickly becomes attached to her. Their budding friendship turns into a love affair, unexpectedly taking them down a path of madness. Director Yasuzo Masumura, whose works often focus on destructive obsession, smoothly navigates a complicated web of love triangles and hidden desires in this on screen adaptation of Junichiro Tanizaki’s novel, Quicksand. He also depicts lesbian romance, unusual at the time, without imposing any judgement. Setsuo Kobayashi’s cinematography plays with shadow and light, lending a mysterious and sensuous atmosphere to the film with fleeting shots of nude bodies that are never fully exposed and always tastefully composed." © 2023 Japanese Film Festival