I know I said at the beginning that pinku, or sex films, wouldn’t be one of the genres covered. Well, Decameron comes as close as anything to pornography in that its sole reason for existence is to titillate. It’s only softcore porn, and only slightly rougher than most American-produced softcore, but there it is. Only a dash of madness and two level tablespoons of sensuality.

Three loosely-connected tales of eroticism unfold. In the first episode, “Two Women Named Mariko,” we meet the two Marikos, one good, one bad. The bad one has sex with her three soldier buddies (all at the same time) while the good one – the bad one’s servant – tries to make hay with the shy, cute loner guy. In episode two, “Lesbian Dreams,” an attractive young group of said lesbians initiate a new member, treating her terribly, until a dead body shows up to ruin everything. In episode three, “The Man in the Pillory,” a man wakes up somewhere unknown, bound, gagged, and with a noose around his neck. His tormentor, a pretty young seductress, brings him up to speed on why he’s there.

Unless the reader is a fan of beautiful young Japanese girls (and, let’s face it, who isn’t?) or softcore porn, it’s best probably to skip this one. Sure, the girls are nice, they’re put in interesting situations, etc., but ultimately it doesn’t have enough oomph to provide the thrills of a truly pronographic film (assuming one finds such a thing desirable) nor enough plot to really be intriguing or entertaining. In other words, this is a film best watched with one finger over the Fast Forward button.

Brought to you as part of the Criterion Collection. Wait, I’m kidding. This DVD mishmash is courtesy of Asia Pulp Cinema. Special features include a trailer, cut scenes from the film, previews of other Asia Pulp Cinema releases, and, for those with DVD-Rom access, a photo gallery, scripts, and cast & production credits. 88 long but fleshy minutes.