Woman With Red Hair, A (1979) Rating: Starring: Renji Ishibashi, Junko Miyashita Director: Tatsumi Kumashiro Category: Drama, Foreign Studio: Image Ent. Subtitles: English Length: 74 mins     Considered one of Kumashiro's best works, this intense, dark, erotic drama is an investigation of the nexus that lies between sexual desire and despair. Junko Miyashita (A Woman Called Sada Abe, Himatsuri), an icon of Japan's '70s erotic films, plays a mysterious hitchhiker picked up by thuggish and macho construction worker Kenzo (Renji Ishibashi, Audition) who takes her back to his run-down and cramped apartment. Claiming that she is running away from an abusive husband, she shacks up with him. In a futile attempt to escape the bleak working class surroundings, the pair engage in a grueling and obsessive erotic relationship. Considered one of the finest examples of the infamous Nikkatsu Roman Porno genre, the prestigious film journal Kinema Jumpo named Miyashita Best Actress for her role and ranked the film as one of the top five releases of 1979.