Title: 愛のむきだし (Ai no Mukidashi) English title: Love Exposure Release Date: January 31, 2009 (Japan) This was my first introduction to both Sono Shion and Hikari Mitsushima. Sono Shion is also famous for the movie Suicide Club, amongst many others. Hikari Mitsushima bursts on the screen in an incredibly unforgettable role; Yuu, played by Nishijima, is in love with Mitsushima’s character Yoko. But this isn’t your typical love story, just like this isn’t a typical movie. Yuu has been operating under the impression since he was a child that, someday his Mary, (like the Biblical Mary) will come along. However, from childhood his images of the Virgin Mary have come to dominate his focus, creating an imagined ideal that, for him, all other girls just don’t live up to. Until, that is, Yoko comes along. The Biblical themes in this movie are far from subtle. In fact, you sometimes feel like you’re being beaten over the head with them. Interestingly enough though, this is what the movie is going for – most of the main characters are struggling with faith, religion, sin, and the loss of belief. This is also a story of separation, and things, for most of the film, do not turn out how the characters hope. Yuu becomes trapped in his enthusiasm to “create a lot of sin” as he at one point enthusiastically calls it. Yoko also, for most of the movie, fears and despises Yuu (with fairly good reason) yet at the same time is in love with one of his alter-egos. The loss of innocence is another powerful theme in this film. The protagonist is physically and possibly sexually abused from a young age. She then vents this anger and her desire for revenge by inflicting similar suffering on others. Yoko also becomes one of her victims. The young and innocent Yoko, also has faced similar problems of abuse, which makes the actions of the antagonist all the more despicable, as she deceives and brainwashes Yoko, eventually succeeding in getting her to join her cult. One of the most touching and memorable scenes comes when Yoko (Mistushima) screams a part from Second Corinthians in the Bible dealing with love, to Yuu. Yoko has been deceived by the protagonist into joining a dangerous religious cult. Yuu then kidnaps her and locks himself up with her in a van on a deserted beach until the “brainwashing” wears off. At one point, she escapes, only to be chased down and tackled by Yuu. With Beethoven’s Symphony no. 7 playing in the background, Yoko shouts out a beautiful description of love, revealing to Yuu his own lack of consideration for this most basic and fundamental thing and also revealing that she might be less “brainwashed” than Yuu had thought. It’s very easy to become confused when writing essay and trying to explain this movie, simply because of the amount of themes that are touched on. In addition to this, the movie spans almost 5 hours, on two DVDs. Two things that are important to note though, are that no matter what scenes appear (and some of them are pretty shocking) or what themes are dealt with, at its core this is a love story; and, the great thing is, the movie never loses its focus – all of the scenes in this movie, work to excel the plot. Finally, although the movie is long, there isn’t a single point where it becomes bogged down, or uninteresting. It keeps, and even forces the viewer to keep watching – something which I feel the audience will gladly oblige to.
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AuthorMy name is Alina Tytarenko. I am a movie lover and soap maker. My website is Dobre Mylo (natural cosmetics). ArchivesCategories |