I haven’t gotten around to watching the DVD features yet.
Now that I think of it, we do see the bag move before they went away together. Another point against my first impression is that the record company guy and the bar owner really are missing or dead.
I think the scariest thing about the movie was how we see the “nice guy” self-image ripped away from Shigaharu. I actually had decided the molestation didn’t happen already, that it was a representation of his inner demons- I think he had been celebate since the death of his wife but was still attracted to women, including some that he know are off limits.
I was really impressed by the movie, you really care about the characters which is why it was so disturbing when you see Shigaharu doing “bad things”.
I also picked up the classic Japanese “new wave” film Giants and Toys, and haven’t gotten around to that one yet either so it may be a while before I get to the DVD extras.