Review of Why Don't You Play in Hell? (2013) by Panta O — 29 Jul 2014

The Japanese action dark comedy written and directed by Sion Sono was a real pleasure to watch! The screenplay was updated version of a 15-year old screenplay written by Sono, and has been described by him as having similarities with Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill. Charming acting team led by Jun Kunimura with stars Shinichi Tsutsumi, Fumi Nikaido, Tomochika, Hiroki Hasegawa and Gen Hoshino was superbly cast.

The story of Muto (Jun Kunimura) and Ikegami (Shinichi Tsutsumi), the two gangsters who hate each other, gets a twist or two very early. Ikegami is in love with Muto's actress daughter Michiko (Fumi Nikaido). Muto's wife spent 10 years in jail and he attempts to make Shizue's (Tomochika) dream come true which is to have their daughter appear in a movie. To save his life, the daughter introduces Koji (Gen Hoshino), who is just a passer-by, as a movie director. Koji is running away and then requests from an independent film director Hirata (Hiroki Hasegawa) to cast Michiko as the leading actress in his film. However, everything soon goes completely wrong.

After a few years making straight-faced, confrontational works like Himizu and Land of Hope, Sono has returned to the joyful gonzo style of his epic four-hour opus, Love Exposure. It has a fresh, bubbly feeling of dark action comedy which is simply fun to watch! Perfectly directed for maximum effects! Interesting and invigorating.