Why you can trust GamesRadar+
The title of the latest film by the director of In The Realm Of The Senses translates as "taboo", so you'd expect something shockingly controversial. Instead Gohatto is a confusing and often boring examination of forbidden love among 19th century samurai.
New recruit Kano (Ryuhei Matsuda) has a pure, androgynous beauty that has a disruptive effect on his fellow trainees. Soon sexual tension is running high and blood is running freely. But although homosexuality was tolerated - - promoted even - - within the world of the samurai, Oshima sees it as a destructive, negative force.
The lyrical mood is reinforced by a strong score from Ryuichi Sakamoto, but the director's approach is too detached and abstract to engage viewers on an emotional level. His heavy-handed methods - - wordy intertitles and voiceovers - - fail to clarify problems of story, character and time-frame.
The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine.

Superman star Nicholas Hoult reveals the "magic" moment when David Corenswet first flew onto set as the Man of Steel: "I felt like I was witnessing the magic of cinema"

Jurassic World's Scarlett Johansson says Rebirth will make the franchise scary again – and one behind-closed-doors scene already proves she's not bluffing

Donkey Kong veteran gives Bananza's character redesign his official seal of approval, praising the new Switch 2 game's look: "It's really ace!"