Shion Sono (Japan)

richardp · 27-08-2012, 22:25

Thanks to the excellent review here, I've started to watch some of Shion Sono's films in the last couple of weeks. So far I've watched Himizu and Guilty of Romance, and although both have had their flaws (the latter more than the former) they've both left me feeling exhilarated and as if I've been through a rollercoaster of emotions.

Himizu has an excellent review above, so not much to add to that really. But Guilty of Romance manages to be a social commentary on marriage in Japan, countless Japanese married couples have sexless relationships and have sex lives independent of each other, so this starts in that context (and seems to be source of a lot of misunderstanding in the reviews I've read of this). It has pornography, prostitution and countless nudity and sex scenes (I bet that has gotten a lot of your attentions

), yet somehow keeps meaning to it all and it never feels like any of it is just for the sake of it. The second half of the film does falter slightly, as it gets more and more extreme, but it's a must see film regardless.

Next one to watch is Cold Fish

Ono · 28-08-2012, 08:32

I've seen Guilty Romance - just seems like pr0n mixed with Desperate Housewives.

baloobas · 28-08-2012, 15:38

Loved Cold Fish but its really creepy, nasty and weird.
Have Guilty Of Romance and Himizu to watch, looking forward to both.

richardp · 28-08-2012, 17:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ono

I've seen Guilty Romance - just seems like pr0n mixed with Desperate Housewives.

Well it's based on a real story IIRC although less extreme,

Spoiler:

the wife was working as a hostess and met her husband whilst working

It seems really extreme and of course the obvious parts are, but a lot of things you might not think are common actually are. Without spoiling too much, the sexless relationships are extremely common, the photoshoot part is actually pretty commonly how they recruite new talent

IMHO the first part of the film did a good job of showing the daily conflict Japanese women have between tatemae(how they wish to be seen) and honne(their true self). I also thought it did a good job of showing how Japanese men generally view women. I agree with the review though that Himizu is a more balanced film and it again does a good job of showing Japanese society in a light you might not associate with it.

bazkeane82 · 03-09-2012, 22:24

Caught 'Love Exposure' the other night on Film4 and thought it was brilliant.

Really long film at 4hrs but it kept me interested all the way through, thought the plot was strange and crazy by having a guy who ends up committing sins just so he can confess to his priest father who then ends up snapping knicker shots of girls on the street which is the worst sin he could commit in his father's eyes. But with the weird story everything seem to work well in the film, it was nicely shot, funny and had a great soundtrack too.

Interested to check out the director's other films now.

richardp · 09-09-2012, 14:46

I've watched cold fish and I am three hours into love exposure since my last post. Cold Fish is brilliant, a close run thing, but definitely my favourite just over Himizu. There are some excellently convincing disturbed performances in it and I've actually been to the areas that the film is set in (both the forest and the area the shops are in

) Love Exposure is a bit weird, but most Christians in Japan are like that. All at the extreme Jehovah Witness end of the scale

Next one to watch is 'Be Sure to Share'