Love Exposure

how does one even begin to speak about such a masterpiece. i'm so fucking glad i rewatched this, idk how this wasn't top 10 let alone top 20 for me when i first watched this 2 months ago, i have no clue what type of drugs i was on cause this rewatch REALLY opened my eyes too the unique and interesting masterpiece sion sono created. sion sono has always been an interesting director too me, he made antiporno and the suicide club movies which are in themselves really fucking great movies, but this movie was the one that made me interested in sion sono, it wasn't my first sion sono movie. that was suicide club, but this movie always made me so curious due too how long it was and also how fucking long it was. i watched this 2 months ago and ever since have been craving a rewatch and so i got the dvd. best decision EVER.  i got a lot too say so imma just put this into paragraphs.  "Love, the greatest of them all. Love! If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I have become the sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And if I have prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, but have not love, I am nothing. And if I dole out my goods, and if I deliver my body that I may boast, but have not love, nothing I am profited. Love is long suffering, love is kind, is not jealous, it is not inflated and does not boast, it is not discourteous, it is not selfish, it is not irritable, it does not enumerate the evil. Love never falls in ruins, but whether prophecies, they will be abolished, or tongues, they will cease, or knowledge, it will be superseded. For we know in part and we prophecy in part. But when the perfect comes, the imperfect will be superseded. When I was an infant, I spoke as an infant, I reckoned as an infant. When I became an adult, I abolished the things of the infant. For now we see through a mirror in an enigma, but then face to face. Now that I know in part, but then I shall know, as also I was fully known. But now remains Faith, Hope, Love! These three. But the greatest of these is... Love!" this movie is the quickest 4 hours ever, it's just pure adrenaline and excitement, along with some comedic and dark jokes. the themes of love, obsession and identity really flourish within this movie and make this movie what it is. the cinematography in itself is just amazing, there is some really fucking amazing camera techniques used in this and there's some beautiful, i mean really beautiful shots, like that one of yuu and yoko on the beach, the one of yoko walking through the city or the ones that have the crosses in them, i can't forget about the shot with koike and her little trio in the car with her finger on the lil bird, i fucking love that shot and it's even my microsoft pfp. it has been ever since i first watched the movie tbf. i love the use of glossiness on the cameras and it just works so perfectly for this type of movie. i love the way sion sono films and directs these movie as he's just such a unique director, u will genuinely never see a director like sion sono.  **"I was just an ordinary high school kid. To put it simply, I wanted to die." ** the characters in this movie are fucking amazing, especially the main 3: yu, yoko and koike. yu is so fucking funny it's amazing. i love how this all basically started cause his dads gf left him and his dad turned into a shitty person. tbh it's a really great exploration of how ur parents can control who u r and what u do depending on the situation, good or bad. see the ending he had, one of my favourite endings too any character, this goes for yoko aswell btw. them 2 have my favourite ending in anything rlly i love their dynamic and their entire romantic story over the course of this 4 hour epic. yoko is probably the best written out of the main 3, imo she's very vulnerable too woman and i love how she's trying too find out who she is sexually throughout the movie and how it leads to her conclusion with yu and miss scorpion. the actress who plays yoko btw was absolutely fucking FANTASTIC, that scene on the beach AND that scene in the mental asylum is some of the most beautiful acting ever, the way she delivers her dialogue is so  wholesome and emotional. koike is probably my favourite character in this movie, the actress is also my favourite from this movie, sakura ando is an amazing actress. she's in godzilla minus 1, shoplifters and monster. she really is a fantastic actress and my god is this her best performance? by far. she is so great at playing this manipulative, cult leader who has a very very tragic past and is overall a terrible fucking person. i love the way she expresses terror and glues it onto others as a way too form fake happiness for herself and her cult.  ** "I kept forcing sins out of myself like this. It felt like squeezing out the last bit of toothpaste." ** i love the soundtrack in this movie, its use of classic music especially during its climatic, emotional moments is fucking amazing and i love it, the original soundtrack aswell is just so amazing i love the song "beautiful" it's just so chill and it fits with the vibe of the first half of this movie perfectly. this movie has 5 chapters 1: yu 2: koike 3: yoko 4: miss scorpion and 5: the final chapter. they're all really weird in length, the first is like an hour, the second is like 15 mins, the third is about 40 mins, the 4th is about 1 hour and a half if not 2 hours and the final chapter is about 30-40 mins, excluding the credits. even so i love the inclusion of chapters as they just make this movie (in my opinion) so much easier too follow. this is some complex shit and i'm so glad i got too experience it a second time, one of my favourite love stories ever and one of my favourite movies ever. amazing movie