Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Love Exposure Blu-ray Movie Review

Will you want to expose yourself to this Blu-ray?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 13, 2012

In one of the funniest (if unintentional) punch lines from my youth, my Mother’s response to one of my sisters’ conversion to Catholicism left me in giggling fits right there in the church during the confirmation Mass which included my sister taking a new "Catholic" middle name of a saint. My sister, who was not exactly the best behaved child and in fact had been exiled to my Aunt’s home halfway across the United States from my family's domicile during my sister’s senior year in high school after her illicit dalliances with her then boyfriend were discovered, had to confess her sins as part of this ceremony which we all witnessed. My sister was in and out of the confession booth in a matter of mere moments and my Mother, without a hint of irony, turned to us and stated firmly, “She can’t possibly have confessed everything she’s done in that short amount of time.” I’m pretty sure Mom was joking, but Tetsu (Atsuro Watabe), the father in Sion Sono’s excruciatingly (no pun intended, considering the root of that word) long Love Exposure, is deadly serious when he insists his son Yu (Takahiro Nishijima) confess his sins, sins which the poor boy hasn’t even really committed. Some eyebrows may have been at least slightly raised when Olive Films’ Frank Tarzi revealed Olive would be releasing some Sion films (in our exclusive interview with him) on Blu-ray, for Sion is not exactly a household name in the West and even in his own country is seen as something of a provocateur. Love Exposure is, despite its controversial subject matter, not as in your face as some other Sion pieces, but it manages to create its own quasi-hallucinatory fervor over the course of its four hour (yes, four hour) running time, first in its depiction of the dysfunctional relationship between Yu and his father, and then the psychological minefield that erupts within Yu once he decides that since he’s confessing to sins he hasn’t been committing, he might as well go ahead and sin already.

There are any number of reasons for religious fanaticism, as even some sad headlines beaming around the world the very day this review is being written attest. Who can really come up with an adequate reason for why faith becomes zealotry? Love Exposure makes a few faltering attempts to answer this question with regard to Yu’s increasingly hard line father, but the film is really more interested in exploring the effects of the father’s fanaticism rather than its cause. Though the film begins with a dreamlike reminiscence of Yu and his ailing mother praying before a statue of the Virgin Mary, things turn more toward the nightmare end of the spectrum rather quickly. Yu’s mother dies, and Yu’s father takes up with a sort of punk or proto-Goth younger girlfriend, Kaori (Makiko Watanabe), who ends up ditching him, leading to the beginning of what might charitably be termed an emotional breakdown.

Tetsu gets involved with a bizarre fundamentalist church and begins insisting that Yu confess, perhaps projecting some deeply felt guilt in his own soul onto his son. Yu is initially confused, but as his father becomes more emotionally and physically abusive, decides the best way out is simply to comply, and that in turn leads him to actually begin sinning, which is where Love Exposure starts to become really odd. Yu’s sin is sneaking photos up the skirts of various girls to capture pictures of their panties. Adding into this kind of unseemly element are two simultaneously unfolding issues: the first is Yu cross-dressing as a character he calls Miss Scorpion, and the second is a romance he begins to foster with Yoko (Hikari Mitsushima). While the love affair might initially be seen as something of a saving grace, it’s complicated by two facts: Yoko has fallen for Yu in his role of Miss Scorpion, and Yoko is also Kaori’s daughter and has had a similarly tempestuous relationship with her parent, just as Yu has.

As if that weren’t enough, there’s a third character in Love Exposure who, like Yu and Yoko, is nursing her own wounds. Koike (Sakura Ando) is also the victim of abuse, and she has literally taken matters into her own hands as a result, no to the physical betterment of her father (you’ll understand more if you watch the film). Koike also begins dressing as Miss Scorpion, leading to a bizarre love triangle of sorts where Yoko, enamored of Miss Scorpion no matter who is “playing” her, ends up creating some unwitting tension and jealousy.

As is probably clear from this précis which frankly barely touches on some of the film’s more peculiar aspects, Love Exposure is going to be very much an acquired taste for certain types of film lovers. This is a movie which dabbles in some fairly unseemly, even smarmy, content, but manages to do so without making the viewer feel like they need an antiseptic bath afterwards. Part of what helps in this regard is Sono’s reliance on a dreamlike ambience where, even though you’re absolutely convinced all of these strange occurrences are in fact happening, nothing ever feels totally “real”. It’s a bizarre dissociative quality that actually helps put a little emotional distance between the viewer and the story which in turn allows for some much needed “breathing space”.

The film is obviously over the top in several key ways, but it’s also surprisingly low key at times. The actors tend to be introspective, almost quasi-Method at times, and that also helps to ground the film in what would otherwise be fairly outlandish. All of this said, though, for those with a sincere religious faith (especially a Christian faith), and for those who aren’t especially prone to stomach ideas like child abuse easily, Love Exposure is going to be a hard pill to swallow. Sono never completely makes the case for how religious fanaticism sparks such a patently bizarre ripple effect though two generations, and in fact that may not even be Sono’s main emphasis in the film. What remains, then, is a really odd, often extremely compelling, dreamscape that touches ever so slightly on the surreal.

Love Exposure Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Love Exposure is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Though I haven't seen the British Region "B" release of this film which my colleague Dr. Svet Atanasov reviewed here, a cursory comparison of the screenshots supports my theory that this is most likely not the same transfer. This transfer, while generally adequately sharp and decently detailed, seems a good deal more washed out than the British release, with less fulsome flesh tones and just a generally less robust level of saturation. This transfer also seems just slightly softer in comparison as well. While contrast between the two releases appears similar, the Olive release, perhaps by dint of its less robust saturation, doesn't look like it pops quite as well in the film's darker sequences. On the other hand, it must also be said there appears to be more overall brightness in the Olive release, which makes some of the shadow detail clearer and the daytime scenes pop quite nicely. All of this said, I have never seen Love Exposure theatrically and so cannot offer a valid opinion on which transfer better reproduces the original film appearance. What this is probably going to boil down to for most consumers is, obviously first depending on if they have a multi-region player, whether they prefer a somewhat darker and more saturated appearance or the lighter, less contrasty appearance of this transfer.

Love Exposure Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Love Exposure features the original Japanese language track presented via a Dolby TrueHD 2.0 audio option. Dr. Atanasov's review of the British release, which had a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix, doesn't mention a glut of surround activity, and in fact the film is often on the quiet, dialogue driven side of things, an aspect which is supported quite well on this track. The film does almost obsessively utilize a couple of classical musical cues, both of which might have benefited from a surround track, but which are presented here with excellent fidelity. The overall mix, while obviously narrow, is well prioritized and features good dynamic range.

Love Exposure Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Unfortunately, none of the supplements that were offered on the British release of Love Exposure have been included on this Blu-ray.

Love Exposure Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Love Exposure isn't an easy film to love, but it creates a compelling mood that seeps into the subconscious and makes for an often unforgettable experience. This will nonetheless not be a film for the mass market, and probably only the more adventurous cinephile need apply to take on the film's rather heady mix of religious symbolism and "alternate" sexual behaviors. This Olive release unfortunately doesn't include any of the supplements that graced the British release, and the transfer seems rather pallid in comparison, as well. Still, those without a multi-region player may want to check out this odd enterprise, a film which fairly screams Art House.