03-15-2015, 12:04 AM
A half hour into this movie, I realized what it was -- that notorious film about upskirt photography on the streets of Japan. I’d read about it somewhere, that is was a good film, but could never convince myself that it was anything more than juvenile humor. I was also less than enthused hearing that religion was a major part of the story (the central characters are devout Catholics). The final straw was the length: 4 hours.
Anyway, I grabbed this blindly from the library, noting only that it was on the 366weirdmovies list, and only a half-hour in did I realize what I was watching.
Well, I stand corrected. This is a great movie. It does involve upskirt photography, but it’s done in such an outrageous way, and there’s so much more going on. The storytelling is convoluted but masterful. The ensemble cast includes three strong female characters. There’s lots of humor, but also some chilling dramatic moments. Hikari Mitsushima deservedly won awards for her performance as the emotionally abused Yoko, as did Takahiro Nishijima playing the upskirt photographer Yu.
The music throughout is subtle but mesmerizing (more earworms). Two of the compositions have been used before in other movies, but never so effectively.
The question you probably have is, “Okay, maybe it has some merit, but four hours?” All I can say is that it felt deftly paced and I did not get tired of these characters. Oh, by the way, the film was originally 6 hours long until the producers complained.
There's martial arts, by the way, with sword fights, and a three-section staff, and knives. Nothing very sophisticated, but it adds color (mostly red).
In looking up the director Shion Sono, I discovered that he also did Strange Circus, a rather disturbing film I watched years ago and mostly liked. He also did a more recent film, something called, Why Don’t You Play in Hell.
Very highly recommended.
Anyway, I grabbed this blindly from the library, noting only that it was on the 366weirdmovies list, and only a half-hour in did I realize what I was watching.
Well, I stand corrected. This is a great movie. It does involve upskirt photography, but it’s done in such an outrageous way, and there’s so much more going on. The storytelling is convoluted but masterful. The ensemble cast includes three strong female characters. There’s lots of humor, but also some chilling dramatic moments. Hikari Mitsushima deservedly won awards for her performance as the emotionally abused Yoko, as did Takahiro Nishijima playing the upskirt photographer Yu.
The music throughout is subtle but mesmerizing (more earworms). Two of the compositions have been used before in other movies, but never so effectively.
The question you probably have is, “Okay, maybe it has some merit, but four hours?” All I can say is that it felt deftly paced and I did not get tired of these characters. Oh, by the way, the film was originally 6 hours long until the producers complained.
There's martial arts, by the way, with sword fights, and a three-section staff, and knives. Nothing very sophisticated, but it adds color (mostly red).
In looking up the director Shion Sono, I discovered that he also did Strange Circus, a rather disturbing film I watched years ago and mostly liked. He also did a more recent film, something called, Why Don’t You Play in Hell.
Very highly recommended.
I'm nobody's pony.
