Long been a favorite around these parts, Sion Sono's gonzo epic on love and madness, is finally getting a proper theatrical run in New York City thanks to Olive Films, which means... press release!
New York, NY - August 8, 2011 - After an acclaimed one-week run at Cinefamily in Los Angeles, CA, Olive Films is proud to announce the New York theatrical release of the already-legendary Japanese film Love Exposure (2008), finally scheduled to open on September 2 at Cinema Village.
This bombastic feature film (clocking at a gargantuan 237 minutes) from director Sion Sono (Suicide Club, Cold Fish) ambitiously tackles life's biggest themes: love, death, sex, revenge, religion and up-skirt panty photography. Winner of dozens of international awards (including the FIPRESCI Prize at the 2009 Berlin Film Festival), Love Exposure tells the story of Yu (Takahiro Nishijima), a teenager driven to a life of sin, romantic extremes and sexual perversions by his father's desperate conversion into extreme Catholicism.
After losing his wife and a maniac-depressive lover, Tetsu (Atsurô Watabe) becomes obsessed with his son's spiritual (and certainly sinful) life. Pressed to confess a couple of dark crimes (and yet, as innocent as they come),Yu hits Tokyo's underground in search of a perfect sin - and in the process, joins a gang of teenagers training in the 'art' of panchira (clandestine panty snapshots!).
On his search for the perfect photo, Yu harasses enough girls to shock his all-forgiving, bible-thumping father, who finally behaves as such and punishes his 'perverse' son. Happy to have his father's attention, Yu decides to fully dedicate himself to the art of panchira - and he quickly becomes one of the very best. Yet, when Yun falls for the Virgin-Mary-like Yoko, he also gets involved with Zero Church, a fanatic religious group with a bizarre agenda of their own.
What comes next is a mix of apocalyptic fervor, pornographic empowerment and girl-power madness, in a film that unfolds into a mosaic of ecstatic narratives while remaining committed (and surprisingly focused) to its romantic main plot.
"At its heart," wrote film critic Hayden Maxwell, "Sion Sono's film is a demented romance movie where the adversities love has to face are Catholic guilt, Japanese perversion, mistaken identity, a cult, and mental illness." Not bad for a four-hour flick!
More from Love Exposure
- News: Sono's LOVE EXPOSURE, Fassbinder's DESPAIR, and Goddard's HISTOIRE(S) DU CINEMA From Olive Films Fall/Winter 2011
- News: Hey LA! Wanna Win Tickets To See Sion Sono's LOVE EXPOSURE?
- News: Finally! LOVE EXPOSURE Comes To U.S Shores (UPDATED)
- News: Sion Sono's LOVE EXPOSURE Coming To Toronto August 21st!
- Reviews: Sion Sono's masterpiece: LOVE EXPOSURE Review
- News: Win Sion Sono's LOVE EXPOSURE On DVD!
- News: Reminder to UK Readers: Sion Sono's LOVE EXPOSURE opens this Friday!
- Reviews: Fantasia 09 Review: LOVE EXPOSURE
- Reviews: Fantasia 09 Review: LOVE EXPOSURE
- Reviews: LOVE EXPOSURE: Another Take
- Reviews: LOVE EXPOSURE: Another Take
- Reviews: NYAFF 09 Review: LOVE EXPOSURE
- Reviews: NYAFF 09 Review: LOVE EXPOSURE
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