Listed as thirteenth on Kinema Junpo’s “Best Films of 1977,” A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness was Suzuki’s first feature after his dismissal by Nikkatsu, but it was released before his emergence as an esoteric international art house filmmaker in the 1980s. Pointedly critical of the homogenizing effects of television and consumerist, bourgeois, suburban existence, the film focuses on Reiko, a pretty, young golfer who is selected by textile executives to be the new face of their brand. Reiko manages the grueling schedule of training and modeling required by the contract, but her success and popularity leave her dangerously vulnerable to an unhinged fan.