In his book Behind the Pink Curtain (2008), Jasper Sharp writes that Mamoru Watanabe's pink films are usually "lyrical... [and] full of poetic symbolism and striking pictorial compositions..."Sharp (2008), pp. 60-61. Watanabe opens Slave Widow with close-ups of Noriko Tatsumi's body rising and falling to the sound of heavy breathing, juxtaposed with images of the lake near her country villa. Watanabe's skillful use of sound is also evident in the contrast between Mitsuko and Kazuhiko's two love scenes. In the first, a lyrical scene which takes place near the lake in which Mitsuko will drown herself, the visuals are accompanied by natural sounds such as crickets, birds and water. In the second, which takes place in Tokyo, the desperation of Mitsuko's situation is emphasized with harsh city noises such as non-stop traffic.
