Love Exposure is excruciatingly missable

i just got back from the silent movie theatre to watch sion sono’s highly acclaimed Love Exposure, and despite all the great reviews and recommendations, i have to say this film was pure EXCREMENT.

at the behest of dear film buff friends and on the glowing reviews of the highly credible Cinefamily, i went to see this 237-minute japanese film, and after 120 minutes i could take no more of its bumbling story line, cliched plot “twists,” and abominable acting and had to leave and try and salvage some part of my night. i’d rather waste the price of my ticket than my time so i have no guilt about walking out of a film midway, particularly when the film is FOUR FRIGGING HOURS.

this film has never been picked up for wide distribution and i can see why now. what i can’t understand is why there are so many batshit gaga reviews about it and why everyone in the theatre was actually laughing at all the hackneyed humor and completely predictable storyline. i have never felt so out of touch with so many proximous people before in my life.

the upside of all of this is that i got to experience the silent movie theatre for the first time and that i also got to eat popcorn for dinner, so not a completely wasted friday night.

but seriously folks, this movie is shit. at times i thought the projectionist had slipped in the final project of a first-year film student at a liberal arts college for the deaf and blind, but i’m pretty sure that was all pure sion sono, a director i might be smart enough to avoid in the future. feel free to waste your money, folks, but do not waste your four hours on this. you can never earn that back.