I’ve only seen Suicide Club (aka Suicide Circle ), which I enjoyed, but wasn’t blown away by. I’d still be curious to check out some of his other stuff, though. Haven’t heard anything about this one, I’m afraid.
I thought Suicide Club was good, but some of the out-of-left-field bizarreness (those musicians…or whatever they were) distracted from what was otherwise a strong and disturbing theme. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some bizarreness (Miike, Tsukamoto, etc.), but in this case I felt it hurt the film more than helped it.
Talk about a thread in need of a bump. Love Exposure, Sono’s sprawling and beautiful mess of a movie—as lyrical as it is perverse, as compelling as it is clunky—will finally see a region-1 release on December 20th. Anyone excited?
i’m excited!!! =D
Also, his film Cold Fish (2010) is already available in a Region 1 disc. For those of you with region-free players, there’s also a UK Blu-ray of it. Also also, a UK Blu-ray of another recent film of his, Guilty of Romance (2011), is being released Nov. 28th.
IMHO, Cold Fish and Strange Circus are leaps and bounds better than Suicide Club. It’s great news to see so many of his films being released.
Did I go overboard by calling it the best film of the 2000s? I shall see when I get to watch it again on DVD. It’s definitely The Mother and The Whore of Japan Extreme Cinema (that comparison is for Z. Bart).
Based on the limited reSponses, I’m guesing people already have the R-2 release.
And, yes, Ari: I do appreciate the shout-out and comparIson!
And, sorry for the typos: my BlackBerry is terminally flawed.
Yeah, I dunno. Hasn’t been much discussion of the film around here. Lots of enthusiastic praise but no good discussions. Not sure why. I will say watching it on DVD with the possibility of a break (especially for bathroom) will change the experience from the no-intermission theater one.
I’ve never heard of the film, let alone seen it. Sounds interesting (although extreme filmmaking is not generally my thing).
It’s not so extreme, Jazz (I think it’s more grouped as such because of Sion Sono’s other films) – it more depends on your tolerance for upskirt photography. I highly recommend it to you.
I can handle “upskirt photography” (lol) and you’re “greatest of the 2000s” remark (if you were serious) caught my attention. I’ll try to see this (although it may be hard to get a hold of).
Yeah, I was definitely serious although it’s quite possible that I radically overpraised it. Like Z. Bart said, it’s a sprawling mess and clunky in parts but to me that was part of the film’s charm and appeal.
I’ll see very soon if this stacks up with Aoyama’s Eureka and Zeze’s Heaven’s Story, I suppose.
I like the fact that three independent Japanese filmmakers used studio money to make a 220-minute, 240-minute and 280-minute epic film within a decade of each other. It says good thing about the studio system in Japan; though I think Aoyama’s was the only one shot on film (by Masaki Tamura, the greatest living cinematographer).
Anyway…
Top ten of the decade, absolutely. Enthralling, well worth a purchase or rental.
“it’s a sprawling mess and clunky in parts but to me that was part of the film’s charm and appeal”
I agree.
Tarkovsky or Ozu it’s not and it may seem silly/juvenile/perverse but it’s worth seeing and lingers after viewing.
Well, now I know what I’m going to use my $20 Amazon.com giftcard on.
—DiB
D. Voluntaryist
Is anyone else looking forward to this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfIAHeKoZ3U
It’s the new film by Sion Sono(Suicide Club, Strange Circus, and Noriko’s Dinner Table).
He is one of the most exciting and important directors working today. If you have never heard of him and your a fan of Miike, Park Chanwook, and David Lynch then you owe it to your self to check out his film’s. I think I see hints of Bergman in there. Really he’s doing everything I want to see in cinema. I here this one is going to have a lot of sex and blood and clock in at about 4 hours.