Shion Sono's epic story of love is, at 237 minutes in length, a challenging sit. It's a good film, although one I never want to watch again, solely because of the draining runtime that's just shy of 4 hours. How often am I going to have 4 hours that I want to devote to a single film, a drama no less? 3 hours is itself enough of an ask for a film of this type, but it would still make Sono's film feel that much tighter and more expressive. Instead, we've got protracted montages that drone on and on, bible quotes that never seem to end, and essentially a director being indulged well past the point that is healthy. Hilariously, the first cut of the film clocked in at an insane 6 hours, yet at the request of producers Sono managed to bring it down to a "more tolerable" 4 hours. This one's strictly for Sono aficionados as it stands, and I imagine the true would be same if it were an hour shorter. Still, it'd be a much better film.
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
