Miyoko

A troubled artist and his relationship with the woman who inspires his work provide the backdrop for this drama based on a true story. Abe Shinichi (Kenji Mizuhashi) was a manga artist working in Tokyo's bohemian Asagaya district in the 1970s. Abe was obsessively attracted to Miyoko (Marie Machida), a beautiful woman who sometimes served as his model. Miyoko would become Abe's lover and later his wife while still posing for his drawings and becoming the central figure in a series of bold and innovative adult comic stories published in the magazine Garo. Unfortunately, while Abe was a gifted artist with a singular vision, he also struggled with drug and alcohol abuse and suffered from schizophrenia, and while Miyoko financially and emotionally supported Abe, his delusions led him into strange and abusive behavior as he persuaded a friend to make love to Miyoko while he watched. Miyoko (aka Miyoko Asagaya Kibun) was an official selection at the 2010 Rotterdam International Film Festival.