LOVE EXPOSURE Review

Contributing Writer; Sydney, Australia (@HugoOzman)
LOVE EXPOSURE Review

Love Exposure Madman.jpgAmazing is perhaps the best word to describe Sion Sono's LOVE EXPOSURE. It is low in budget but massive in scale, so crammed full of different ideas and elements that its running time of 4 hours actually does not feel too long. Comedy, drama, action and even social commentary are all thrown in to create a masterpiece that truly defies genre categorization.

At the heart of the movie is a love story, one that involves a twisted love triangle. Yu (Takahiro Nishijima), Yoko (Hikari Mitsushima) and Koike (Sakura Ando) are young people from three dysfunctional families. Through a series of bizarre events, they come together and become caught up in a complex web of love and lust, disguise and deceit, religion and guilt. More conservative audiences may be shocked or even offended by the more daring parts of the movie, such as the humorous depictions of upskirt photography, the running joke about Yu's erections, and the scenes showing temptation of a priest. Viewers who don't mind these subject matters, however, are treated to a film that greatly entertains.

While the three young leads are undeniably likeable in their portrayals of three broken individuals, the standout performances come from Atsuro Watabe playing the priest Tetsu and Makiko Watanabe playing a passionate woman who really tests his faith. Watabe and Watanabe's layered and convincing performances have contributed a lot to the film's success. Because the story moves along so quickly, it is perhaps easy to forget that all of these characters are damaged people. They are sad and lonely, but find strength and happiness through each other. It is because of these characters, whom audiences get to know over the 4 hours running time, that the film becomes progressively more compelling as it moves towards its profoundly touching climactic final scenes. 

In the end, LOVE EXPOSURE is one of those rare films that is truly unique. It is full of original ideas and unlike any other movie. This is exhilarating entertainment and modern Japanese cinema at its absolute best.

 

LOVE EXPOSURE is distributed in Oz by Madman Entertainment, Australia's leading distributor of anime, independent film, Asian cinema, National Geographic, Cartoon Network and other special interest genres.

 

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