Golden-gai, a warren of tiny bars near Shinjuku's Kabukicho entertainment district, has long been a refuge for writers, musicians, filmmakers and other artistic types, who congregate at drinking establishments with like-minded patrons. The area also has a seedier, less reputable side, which is graphically shown in Shinji Imaoka's erotic drama "Tsugunai: Shinjuku Golden-gai no Onna."

A veteran director of pink eiga (erotic films), Imaoka has turned the genre's by-now musty conventions to his own unconventional ends. Yes, his previous films — such as "Kaeru no Uta (Frog Song)," "Ojisan Tengoku (Uncle's Paradise)" and the pink musical "Onna no Kappa (Underwater Love)" — have de rigueur scenes of simulated screwing, but Imaoka's playful imagination, skewed sense of humor, and unsentimental humanism sets these films apart from the pink mainstream.

"Tsugunai" may lack the laughs and flights of fancy found in Imaoka's best works, but its view of Golden-gai life seems to be fueled by hard-won (as well as hard-drinking) experience, be it Imaoka's or scriptwriters Minoru Sato and Haruhiko Arai's. (Though I'm guessing it's all of the above.) The title song, sung by the ex-con heroine, perfectly expresses the film's gritty attitude and tone.