One of the longest, strangest and best films I’ve ever seen,
Love Exposure is a four hour long
Japanese epic written and directed by acclaimed director Shion Sono which tackles
themes such as love, lust, religion, the family unit, loss and…um… up skirt
photography.
Rather than a plot summery, here is a brief outline of the
five main characters. Hopefully it will put across the magnificent uniqueness
of this fantastic film.
Yu Honda (Takahiro Nishijima) is a seventeen year old Priest’s
son. Following sorrow in his father’s life, the Priest only allows Yu to see
him during confession. Yu ends up desperately searching for Sins to commit so that
he can tell his father and drifts into the world of up skirt photography which
he becomes a master of due to his martial arts skills. After loosing a bet
regarding who has the best photo, his friends dare him to dress up as a woman
and find a girl to kiss. He comes across a young woman called Yoko who he
instantly knows is his ‘Mary’. The only problem is that when they meet, he is
in drag as ‘Miss Scorpion’…
Yoko (Hikari Mitsushima) is the same age as Yu and lives
with her father’s ex lover Kaori. Her father abused her as a child and as a
result she hates all men. One day she is confronted and attacked by a group of
men but saved when a strange woman called Miss Scorpion comes to her rescue.
She falls instantly in love but at the same time is forced to move in with
Kaori’s new lover and his son, Yu who she hates with a passion.Kaori (Makiko Watanabe) is an early middle aged woman who has spent her life going from one man to another. Along the way she has picked up the daughter of one of these men, Yoko. The two of them bonded as friends and now wherever Kaori goes, Yoko follows. Depressed one day, Kaori finds herself in a Church where she forces herself on the Priest.
Tetsu Honda (Atsuro Watabe) is a Priest, widower and father to Yu. Conflicted between his faith and love of a new woman he starts putting pressure on his son to Sin before eventually disowning him altogether when it becomes clear that his Sins have got out of hand. Along with Kaori and Yoko, he is indoctrinated into a cult called the
Aya Koike (Sakura Ando) is a member of the Zero Church Cult who indoctrinate families into their circle. Like Yoko she too was abused by her father but instead of escaping, chopped off his penis when he was asleep. Aya turns her attention to Yu and his family when she sees an opportunity to indoctrinate them.
As you can tell from that rather long opening the film is
completely bonkers and I haven’t even mentioned half of the crazy stuff that
goes on (think porn, samurai swords, blackmail, erections, mental illness).
Although it is weird and often funny it is never ‘zany’ and manages to keep the
right side of the quirky line. This is a dramatic piece rather than a throwaway
popcorn movie. Given the long run time there is so much plot that it would take
pages to explain but it never feels too long or like they could have left a bit
out. Every scene feels as though it belongs and none of them outstay their
welcome. We get a little bit of back story from the three younger leads with
each narrating over their own part of the plot. Once or twice they overlap as
though talking telepathically to each other. The three young characters become
involved in a strange love triangle which at times makes all three unhappy and
adds to the complexity (and length) of the plot.
The many themes are dealt with very well. Religion and in particular
the Catholic faith is at the heart of the film. Yu’s sins are at the axis of
the film’s plot and he refers to knicker snapping as his original sin. Later
when trying to save another character from the 
There are so many great aspects to Love Exposure that it’s difficult to keep this short. Briefly
though one of my favourite things was the soundtrack, which was absolutely incredible.
Fusing classical and rock it is great to listen to and works perfectly in
tandem with the film. A couple of tracks including Ravel’s Bolero, Beethoven's 7th and the magnificent Kûdô
Desu (Hollow Me) by Yura Yura Teikoku are played on a loop and pop up at certain
times to help the film bring all of its strands together. I highly recommend
searching out the songs above and the likes of Into the Next Night by Tsuki no Yoru E. Another great thing about Love Exposure is the acting. Lead actor Hikari
Mitsushima is outstanding in his complex and ever changing role. He has a
brilliant smile and great martial arts skills but carries the emotional weight
of the film on his shoulders with great dexterity. Hikari Mitsushima is also great as Yoko,
throwing caution to the wind in an eye opening role. For such a cute (and hot)
looking girl she manages to maintain an alluring edge to her performance while
remaining innocent and sweet. While these two stand out, the whole cast is
excellent, even going as far as Yu’s pervert friends and the other Occasionally the low budget makes itself known with shoddy camerawork and sometimes cheap looking cinematography but for me this just added to the films realism. At times it felt like a documentary despite the crazy Catholic Guilt/Transvestism/Pervert stuff that was obviously not real. Director Shion Sono takes us away from the action though by constructing barriers such as a countdown to a 'miricle' and having the film split into chapters. The result keeps us hooked and interested but satisfyingly separated from the action.
This rather long and confusing review doesn’t do Love Exposure justice; you’ll just have
to take my word for it. If you aren’t averse to something a little unusual or a
film on the long side then I can’t recommend it highly enough. I’ve seen it
twice now and after the shock and awe of my first viewing I’m now appreciating its
beauty and plot. There are films which are better made, there are films which
have bigger names or better action or funnier lines but there are few which are
as good as Love Exposure.
10/10
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