Mishima's early short novel gets a daring cinematic treatment in this film adaptation. The story tells of a young widow, Etsuko (Ruriko Asaoka), who turns frustration and desire into masochistic obsession. Etsuko lives as the passionless concubine of her father-in-law on the family estate outside Osaka. She loses herself in a distant passion for the youthful gardener, who remains oblivious to her desire until it has built to tragic proportions. "(The Thirst for Love,) with tact and delicacy, delineates some of the most convoluted psychology to be seen on the recent Japanese screen...This ironic, absurd and disturbing tragedy has been brilliantly illustrated by Kurahara. He uses every cinematic technique that serves his purpose-flashcuts, almost subliminal frames of color in a black-and-white context, negative shots, slow-motion...(He) wants to picture an emotion as clearly, strongly, and honestly as he can. And he succeeds." (Variety, 3/15/67)