Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

The Land of Hope Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 26, 2013

Japanese director Sion Sono's "Kibo no kuni" a.k.a "The Land of Hope" (2012) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Third Window Films. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; documentary film; and trailers for other Third Window Films releases. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Safe at home

A powerful earthquake rocks the fictional Nagashima prefecture and seriously damages the area’s unpopular nuclear power plant. The government immediately creates a twenty-kilometer evacuation zone and people are ordered to leave their homes.

Just outside of the evacuation zone live the Ono and Suzuki families. With the Fukushima disaster still fresh in their minds, the members of the Suzuki family immediately decide to leave the area. The members of the Ono family choose to stay, encouraged by various government reports claiming that radiation levels are not dangerous.

But as time passes by different reports begin contradicting each other, creating an atmosphere of tension not only in the area but also in big cities far away from Nagashima. Sensing that the government might be hiding important and potentially even dangerous information, Yasuhiko (Isao Natsuyagi, Emperor, Warm Water Under a Red Bridge) urges his son Yoichi (Jun Murakami, Himizu, Hotel Hibiscus) and his pregnant wife Izumi (Megumi Kagurazaka, Cold Fish, Guilty of Romance) to leave. At first Yoichi refuses, but when Yasuhiko confronts him and demands that he thinks about the future of his unborn child he changes his mind.

Soon after, the Nagashima prefecture becomes a ghost area.

Japanese director Sion Sono’s latest film is both beautiful and incredibly depressing. It is infused with some of the melancholy that is easily felt in Tarkovsky’s work, but it also has the rawness and directness documentary films typically favor.

Shot in and around Fukushima, and using real survivors from the Fukushima tsunami/disaster as extras, the film is essentially a slap in the face of government incompetence. As the Ono family struggles to make sense of the different reports and later Yoichi and Izumi become paranoid, the viewer begins to understand how flawed and ultimately pointless the government’s actions are after the tragedy. Needless to say, a lot of what is shown in the film must have been inspired by the Japanese government’s actions after the Fukushima disaster. (A fantastic documentary included on this release offers plenty of information about the real disaster and how it affected the lives of different people).

The second half of the film is very powerful. For a while Yasuhiko pretends that he can continue living with his ill wife (fantastic Naoko Ohtani) as if nothing had happened, but the desolated area slowly defeats him. Far away from home, Yoichi and Izumi also begin to realize that life in Japan will never be the same.

Some of the footage from the devastated areas could have been shortened, but Sono’s desire to show different places that are still recovering is understandable. Indeed, The Land of Hope isn’t a flawless film, but it is absolutely impossible not to admire.

Note: Last year, Sion Sono’s The Land of Hope won NETPAC Award for Best Feature Film at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The Land of Hope Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Sion Sono's The Land of Hope arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Third Window Films.

Shot digitally, The Land of Hope looks beautiful on Blu-ray. Image depth and clarity are excellent. Colors also look strikingly natural (many close-ups actually look like digital photographs). During the indoor sequences where light is restricted some low digital noise is often present, but the high-definition transfer is not to be blamed for it. Such noise is often present on films shot with sensitive HD cameras. Contrast levels remain stable from start to finish. Also, there are no serious stability issues to report in this review. Compression is also very good. All in all, I believe that the technical presentation is indeed as good as it can possibly be. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

The Land of Hope Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Third Window Films have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

The Land of Hope is primarily a dialog-driven feature. There are a few sequences where Gustav Mahler's music is heard, but its role is strictly to enhance the existing atmosphere. Unsurprisingly, surround movement is extremely limited. However, the dialog is exceptionally crisp, clean, stable, and easy to follow.

The Land of Hope Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Making of Land of Hope - this is an outstanding documentary film which chronicles Sion Sono's stay in Fukushima, where The Land of Hope was shot, and his work and interaction with real survivors from the Fukushima tsunami/disaster. Also, included at the end of the film are interviews with the principal actors as well as footage from the film's screening at the Toronto International Film Festival. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (70 min, 1080p).

• Trailer - original trailer for The Land of Hope. In Japanese, with imposed English subtitles. (2 min).

• Trailers - original trailers for other Third Window Films releases:
  
  1. For Love's Sake.
  2. Vulgaria
  3. Tetsuo: The Iron Man
  4. Kotoko

The Land of Hope Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sion Sono's The Land of Hope should be seen by people who continue to believe that nuclear plants can be safe. They can't be, and they won't be. And because they are not, there is always a chance that we may witness a new accident such as the one that destroyed the Fukushima plant. If you can play Region-B discs, I urge you to see The Land of Hope. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.