Love Exposure (2008)

A New Master...

Now, I would love to give a full synopsis of ‘Love Exposure’ for you because I believe it deserves it; but I’m not going to. The reason is I could write a book on this film, it is that good. I also don't wish to spoil your experience of seeing it for the first time with spoilers and giveaways. Now listen up….

Perversion, abuse, transvestism, up-skirt photography, religious cults, kung-fu, karate, budgerigars, gangs, priests, kidnapping, cult film references, mental asylums, car chases, evil plots, ninja training, lesbianism, violence, love, deception, confession, mad bombers; this film has it all and more.

Yu, our protagonist, is a special kind of boy. His parents are deeply religious and he watches his mother pray each day. He dotes on his mother who sadly passes away due to illness but makes Yu promise that one day he will find his Maria (Girlfriend/Virgin Mary) and introduce her to her. This underlies all of Yu’s actions and mental state for much of the movie.

Yu’s father becomes a priest after his wife dies and makes Yu go to confession. The only problem is, Yu has nothing to confess! He starts lying to his father about sins he has committed to please his father but his father sees through this because they are so week and pathetic. To appease and please his father, Yu starts to make up even more elaborate sins but to no avail. Eventually, purely out of frustration, Yu decides to commit a sin. This in turn leads to sinning on a massive scale which becomes the centre piece of the film; peek-a-panty or up-skirt photography (ninja technique) to you and me.

Now, at this point, many new characters are introduced into the movie including Yoko - who Yu falls in love with, the gang members he becomes affiliated with, the bad girl Aya Koike, his fathers lover and more. Their backgrounds and stories are all elaborately told leaving nothing to the imagination but rightly so. With montage sequences of the highest order and detailed visual descriptions of sordid and unfortunate pasts, Sono allows us to get right to the heart of each character.

The film is shot in chapters which span a timeline to several significant happenings. The most significant of these is Yu’s meeting with his ‘Maria’, Yoko. After Yu has trained his friends in the art of ninja style peek-a-panty, they compare each others photos and the one with the best shot wins something. During one of these sessions, Yu is convinced he is king but his chum has taken a one hit wonder (she even has strawberries on her knickers!). Because Yu looses, he has to dress as a woman, try to chat her up in a woman’s voice and then kiss her. Dressed as Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion, Yu and his cronies head out into the city and stumble upon Yoko who is about to be beaten up by a gang (this part is more convoluted than it sounds but you will see when you watch it). Yu falls instantly in love with Yoko and Yoko with Yu after he helps her defeat the gang. The problem is, Yoko falls in love with Miss Scorpion and not Yu! What will Yu do?

The film is crude in its humour at times but always funny. There is plenty of schoolboy humour and belly laughs to be had. A well constructed story winds its way painlessly toward the four hour mark and leaves you with a sense of fulfilment and a wry smile.

The latter part of the movie sees the evil Aya Koike plotting the demise and humiliation of Yu and his loved ones. Sit back and enjoy.

Please watch Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (1972) before watching Love Exposure as you will surely find the references more satisfactory.

I loved the characters and Sono’s character development; being a fan of the anti-hero or bad guy I felt happy with my lot. The perversions in the film cover many areas and some are disturbing, some fascinating (I will not be taking my camera out for a walk if that is what you are thinking!). There are plenty of erections to laugh at and laugh you will whether you are 16 or 60. There are some shots in Love Exposure which are handled masterfully and I was wowed at points. I assure you, you will start with a bundle of supplies, and thoughts of sitting through four hours of film will worry you slightly. I also assure you that this will be the easiest and most fun four hours you have had in front of a screen ever.

If Sion Sono continues in this vein for his future forays into cinema, we are surely watching the birth of a master.