Guilty of Romance (Sion Sono)

[pro-bassoonist]

Guilty of Romance Blu-ray REVIEW



Pro-B

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Awesome. I watched the Japanese cut which I'm super happy to have with English subtitles and I felt it was a notably better film with a smoother flow. Still not quite as good as Cold Fish or Love Exposure, but the Japanese cut made for a more cohesive experience.

[pro-bassoonist]

I agree, DB.

Cold Fish is easily the most effective of the three films as it hits really hard and does so with an attitude. On the other hand, Love Exposure has a tremendous energy that makes everything work very well.

Pro-B

[Grethiwha]

Love Exposure is the ultimate Sono film, and my personal favourite film of the last decade (or two). Cold Fish is fantastic, with an incredible performance by Denden as one of the best movie villains I've seen (and I'd love it to get a North American blu-ray release). I agree Guilty of Romance is the weakest of the three, but I still think it's excellent in its own right. Can't wait to see the Japanese cut, on blu!

[Zen_Amako]

I'm also looking forward to seeing the Japanese cut. However, I thought Miki Mizuno's police detective (she's called "handsome" in pro-b's review) was considered the "third" woman, and I expected her role to be expanded in the Japanese cut.

[Grethiwha]

Just watched this on blu-ray. Freakin' amazing movie by the way. I've seen a lot of Japanese movies about prostitution, a woman's fall from grace, you know, Mizoguchi, stuff like Streets of Shame... Nothing remotely close to this. Especially towards the end... it's jaw-dropping; this movie gets ****ing nuts, and it's perfectly representative of why Sion Sono is my favourite director right now (even if he has, like, half a dozen movies I think are even better).

Originally Posted by Zen_Amako

I'm also looking forward to seeing the Japanese cut. However, I thought Miki Mizuno's police detective (she's called "handsome" in pro-b's review) was considered the "third" woman, and I expected her role to be expanded in the Japanese cut.

I just watched the Japanese cut, and though my memory of the International cut from the first time I watched this film was a bit cloudy, the big difference that stood out to me was that yes, the detective's role is greatly expanded.

It's interesting though, everyone seems to prefer the longer Japanese cut, but I was just reading that the shorter international cut is actually Sono's preferred, 'director's cut'. And indeed, the detective character does seem almost conventional (or as conventional as Sono gets which is not very) and peripheral to the main story (which is all intact in the international version); I was reading about the differences and it does seem most of the additional scenes in the Japanese cut are meant to make the film more accessible, which is unnecessary.

There are some great parts in the Japanese cut, and I did like the movie even more this time than when I watched the International cut (though I think that's more just because it's the kind of film I appreciate more on repeated viewings), but I also kind of think the International cut works a bit better overall. Anyway, I think there's value to both cuts, and I'm extremely happy that Olive included both.

[TheGentlemanBat]

Originally Posted by Grethiwha

Love Exposure is the ultimate Sono film, and my personal favourite film of the last decade (or two). Cold Fish is fantastic, with an incredible performance by Denden as one of the best movie villains I've seen (and I'd love it to get a North American blu-ray release). I agree Guilty of Romance is the weakest of the three, but I still think it's excellent in its own right. Can't wait to see the Japanese cut, on blu!

Only saw Guilty of Romance which really blown me away (too bad Olive Films' editions are region-A locked, I'd have really liked to see the Japanese cut) so what you say about Love Exposure & Cold Fish is very helpful. Especially knowing the last one is on my UK wishlist for a couple of months now and I was still reluctant to order it.

[Grethiwha]

Originally Posted by TheGentlemanBat

Only saw Guilty of Romance which really blown me away (too bad Olive Films' editions are region-A locked, I'd have really liked to see the Japanese cut) so what you say about Love Exposure & Cold Fish is very helpful. Especially knowing the last one is on my UK wishlist for a couple of months now and I was still reluctant to order it.

No problem!

If you like Guilty of Romance I'd also strongly recommend 'Strange Circus', though that one doesn't have a blu-ray release, sadly.