Quote:
Shiratori Tatsuhiko (Go Ayano) is a no-good bum and a loser. Wandering the streets one day, he meets Matora (Yusuke Iseya), a blond-haired devil who introduces him to a talent agency called Burst. Their specialty? Finding girls to work in the many hostess clubs, love hotels and lurid hole-in-the-walls of Kabukicho, Shinjuku’s infamous red-light district. It’s a dog-eat-dog world like no other, and in a neighbourhood where all sorts of bad people converge, and where sex, money and business mean life and death, Tatsuhiko finds himself in constant trouble. Struggling to stay on top, he soon finds himself caked in layer upon layer of greed, violence and lies, let alone the ever-looming threat of ruthless scouting rivals and the yakuza themselves!

Adapted from Ken Wakui’s long-running and immensely popular seinen manga series of the same name, SHINJUKU SWAN finds Sono working from someone else’s script for the very first time — to surprising results, no less in line with his recurring obsessions with eros, thanatos, and the darker colors of Tokyo’s kaleidoscopic landscape! Here, Sono focuses on Shinjuku’s underbelly with the same unrelenting, deviant energy he brought to his previous romps through the city (be it TOKYO TRIBE, or the rarer BAD FILM). Starring the ever-great Go Ayano (HELTER SKELTER, GANTZ) alongside Takayuki Yamada (13 ASSASSINS, LESSON OF THE EVIL, MILOCRORZE) and Sono’s latest regular Erina Mano (seen in both Sono’s TAG and LOVE & PEACE, also playing this year), SHINJUKU SWAN topped the Japanese box office upon release, and here’s your chance to see what all the fuss is about! — Ariel Esteban Cayer (Fantasia International Film Festival)

http://nitroflare.com/view/F103FAA76B07352/Sion_Sono_-_%282015%29_Shinjuku_Swan.mkv

Language(s):Japanese
Subtitles:English

The post Shion Sono – Shinjuku suwan AKA Shinjuku Swan (2015) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Kyoko is a twenty-one-year-old artist who loves being at the center of attention. One day, feeling down, she lashes out against her assistant, sexually humiliating her in front of the rest of the staff. Suddenly someone yells “Cut!” and we realize that they are actually on a movie set.

About the project:
Quote:

Five of Japan’s top directors — Sion Sono and Hideo Nakata among them — will make short features in the classic “Nikkatsu Roman Porno” format for theatrical release and TV broadcast, Nikkatsu has revealed.

Other directors for the “Roman Porno Reboot Project” are Akihiko Shiota, Kazuya Shiraishi and Isao Yukisada.

All will be given the same budget and be required to shoot their films within one week, with running times of 70 to 80 minutes. Exact titles and release schedules have yet to be decided.

The new series marks the 45 years since the 1971 start of “Nikkatsu Roman Porno,” when the venerable Nikkatsu studio was facing bankruptcy and decided to shift production to feature-length softcore porn. It made the films using studio resources and young studio-trained directors.

The studio cranked out nearly 1,100 titles before ending production of the genre in 1988 under pressure from the flood of straight-to-video adult films.

https://nitro.download/view/CC3E18E56AF5201/Antiporno.AKA.Anchiporuno.2016.576p.BluRay.x264-gooz.mkv

Language(s):Japanese
Subtitles:English, Portuguese

The post Shion Sono – Anchiporuno AKA Antiporno (2016) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Japan’s oldest major movie studio asks a batch of venerable filmmakers to revive its high-brow soft-core Roman Porno series.

Review:
Whenever you hear of the director Sion Sono, you expect a little controversy, a little surrealism and something a little extreme. And with films like Love Exposure, Suicide Club and Strange Circus to name a few, he has earned the reputation of being a maverick director. But in some of his recent work, he has gotten onto themes which are surprisingly in contrast to his earlier work. Much like in the schoolgirl horror/fantasy Tag, he delves into themes which reflect the faults in present Japanese society. And in his latest film, Anti-Porno, Sono does it again with spectacular results. As part of the five-film saga of the Roman Porno Reboot, Sono certainly makes his mark.

Former gravure idol Ami Tomite stars as Kyoko, a talented young artist and author whose life is in disarray due to her troubled past like the sudden death of her sister and the depraved relation between her parents. Taking inspirations from her life and using it for her novel, she becomes the woman that she is today. Trudging through her day-to-day life of interviews, magazine shoots and creative outlets, she has a dangerously sadistic relationship with her personal assistant, Noriko (Mariko Tsutsui). That is until one day, her life (as well as the story) turns upside-down to the point where the audience will have to re-evaluate what had just happened.

As with all of Sono’s films, the less you know about the story, the better. And Anti-Porno has many surprises and tropes that Sono is capable of pulling off. Like in Tag, Anti-Porno deals with female oppression and objectivity and it is just as sharp. Sono toys with actions that the characters make, which can be seen as exploitative as well as prurient but in retrospect as well as in the final act of the film, it all coalesces to a point and it is a marvel to witness.

The cinematography and production design by Maki Ito and Takashi Matsuzuka is fantastic to look at and really blurs the line between fantasy and reality with ease. Sono again utilizes classical music from Beethoven to great effect, but it can get a little repetitive, while the editing by Junichi Ito keeps the film clear and concise, especially for the film’s short running time.

Sono’s storytelling in Anti-Porno also feels like a greatest hits compilation at times, with many elements picked from Himizu (the use of paint), the fascination of the oppression femininity (Tag and Guilty of Romance), psycho-sexual horror (Strange Circus), but Sono does one-up the story in one extreme way and it makes all the difference (without spoilers): he goes meta. Not only does it add some much-needed humour (like in a hilariously dark and depraved dinner scene), it also adds a lot of punch to the exploration of its themes, showing what it feels to be looked down on and having warped perceptions about the down-and-out facts of life.

The actors (or mainly two) certainly follow Sono all the way. Having worked with Sono in small roles like in Tag and The Virgin Psychics, Ami Tomite takes the leading role in Anti-Porno and she delivers a whirlwind of a performance. Seemingly one-dimensional in the first act (basically acting hysterical), as the story turns itself on its head, her performance becomes a lot more layered as her character deals with sorrow, desperation and guilt, and Tomite delivers in spades.

Veteran actress Mariko Tsutsui (who has appeared in Sono’s The Land of Hope) also delivers in a similar way, playing her role as one-dimensional (in this case, submissive) to the point where she becomes a force of nature that took me by surprise. The supporting cast are all fine in their performances but the acting highlights are mostly from Tomite and Tsutsui.

As for its flaws, the film does indulge in actions that can turn off the audiences, particularly those who are politically correct. Also, the first act does drag a little bit as it seemingly becomes a never-ending array of hysteria and violence with no point to it, but for those who are patient will be guaranteed a pleasant surprise.

Repression will lead to oppression and eventually aggression, and Anti-Porno is not only a big middle finger to the dangerous societal views of women, but also the Roman Porno Reboot brand itself. Sono fulfills the promise of sex scenes every 10 minutes with great inventiveness (like a scene involving paint) and he delivers a gut-punch of a twist in the second act, which in turn changes the promise of the brand to astounding effect. And with energetically layered performances, beautiful cinematography and a surprisingly meta vibe, Anti-Porno is a porno worth looking out for. In the cinema!

— Harris Dang (easternKicks.com)

http://nitroflare.com/view/EBADAECEDF1F5BF/Antiporno.2016.720p.BluRay.x264-WiKi.mkv
http://nitroflare.com/view/11A8093A11F91F9/Antiporno.2016.1080p.BluRay.x264-WiKi.srt

Language(s):Japanese
Subtitles:Chinese (muxed),English

The post Shion Sono – Anchiporuno AKA Antiporno (2016) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Quote:
Three emotionally abused people from the fringes of society get locked in a convoluted love triangle. Yuu, a Catholic boy searching for true love ends up taking erotic photographs of women in public until he discovers Yoko, whom he sees as his Virgin Mary. Yoko, an antifamily, misandristic girl finds that her foster mother will be marrying Yuu’s father. Koike, an “original sinner”, coordinates a plan to convert Yuu’s family to her cult. Under her careful direction, their lives come crashing together in one fateful street fight.

http://nitroflare.com/view/8E53F3EA1896AF5/Sion_Sono_-_%282008%29_Love_Exposure.mkv

Language(s):Japanese
Subtitles:English

The post Shion Sono – Ai no mukidashi AKA Love Exposure (2008) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

From Busan International Film Festival:

High school student Kamogawa Yoshiro wakes up one day to discover that he has psychic superpowers. He also soon discovers that others in the city have the gift, only some of them are hellbent on causing trouble. He becomes embroiled in several strange incidents and eventually overcomes those seeking to do the city and its people harm, meeting the woman of his dreams along the way. A film that takes a different approach to the superhero genre by introducing a joyful young man who becomes a hero not by boasting of his superpowers but by overcoming temptation.
The Virgin Psychics is an adaptation of a serial comic strip that has been published in Weekly Young Magazine since 2009. It was later made into a TV show (also by SONO Sion) in 2013 and is the director’s fifth film. SONO is the same filmmaker who brought us Love & Peace, Shinjuku Swan, The Chasing World, and the independent film Whispering Star (scheduled to be released in theaters next year), which was shot in the area ravaged by the Fukushima nuclear power plant meltdown. (PARK Jin-hee)

http://nitroflare.com/view/9839BF5B345217E/The.Virgin.Psychics.2015.720p.BluRay.x264-WiKi.mkv

Language(s):Japanese
Subtitles:None

The post Shion Sono – The Virgin Psychics AKA Eiga: minna! Esupâ da yo! (2015) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Plot:Yu is a high school boy who lives with his father who became a priest after Yu’s mother died. But one day, a woman, Kaori, falls for Yu’s father although she knows that he is a priest. Yu is completely against this because he does not like Kaori’s eccentric presence intruding into the father and son’s peaceful life, and even more because she brings with her Yoko, the girl he fell in love with at first sight. He does not want the girl of his dreams to become a step-sister! One day, religious cult member Koike finds this so-called family an interesting group and kidnaps three of its members, leaving Yu behind on purpose hoping he will join the cult soon. He will not fall for Koike’s tricks, but instead will do anything to save the love of his life, Yoko, from this cult.

Awards:
68th Venice Film Festival – Marcello Mastroianni Award
Agnes B. Award (Audience) – 2008 (9th) TOKYO FILMeX – November 22nd-30th
Audience Award – 2009 (11th) Barcelona Asian Film Festival – April 30th-May 10th
2009 Grand Jury Prize – 2009 (8th) New York Asian Film Festival – June 19th-July 5th
Jury Special Prize – 2009 (13th) Fantasia Film Festival – July 9th-29th
Best Female Performance – Hikari Mitsushima – 2009 (13th) Fantasia Film Festival – July 9th-29th
Best Asian Film (Gold) – 2009 (13th) Fantasia Film Festival – July 9th-29th
Most Innovative Film (Gold) – 2009 (13th) Fantasia Film Festival – July 9th-29th
Netpac Award (Special Mention) Sakura Ando & Hikari Mitsushima – 2009 (13th) Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival – July 16th-26th
Best New Artist (Hikari Mitsushima) – 2009 (34th) Hochi Film Awards – November 2009

http://www.nitroflare.com/view/2F4585B703CC9D2/love-exposure-2008-coj-.mkv

Language(s):Japanese
Subtitles:English

The post Shion Sono – Ai no mukidashi AKA Love Exposure (2008) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Set after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, all 14-year-old Yuichi Sumida (Shota Sometani) wants to become is a regular boy and live a decent life. His environment though repeatedly drags him into the mud. He runs his parent’s rental boat business, which is located next to a nondescript lake. His mother frequently comes home with different men and soon she leaves him entirely. His father only comes around looking for money. Whenever Yuichi’s father is drunk he tells Yuichi “I wish you were dead.”

Keiko Chazawa (Fumi Nikaido) is a classmate of Yuichi Sumida. She harbors a severe crush on Yuichi. Keiko’s home life isn’t much better than Yuichi’s. Her mother builds a gallows with a noose in place for Keiko to take her own life. Her mother believes her life would be better off without Keiko.

Under these circumstances, Keiko pays a visit to Yuichi’s home. A group of people are lingering nearyby who live in make shift tents on the property. Keiko tries to befriend Yuichi, but she is berated and even physically assaulted. She doesn’t get deterred though and sticks around.

One day, the yakuza come by Yuichi’s home. They look for Yuichi’s father who is nowhere to be found. The men then tell Yuichi that he has to come up with 6 million Yen by tomorrow to pay off his father’s debt. Yuichi already heartbroken by his mother’s abandonment and abuse from his father nears a tipping point. A string of incidents then occurs that brings Yuichi’s world to a screeching halt. Is there light at the end of the tunnel for Yuichi?

Himizu.2011.576p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

General
Container:	Matroska
Runtime:	2h 10mn
Size:	3.40 GiB
DXVA:	Compatible
Minimum settings:	Met
Video
Codec:	x264
Resolution:	1024x548
Aspect ratio:	1.85:1
Frame rate:	23.976 fps
Bit rate:	3 289 Kbps
Audio
Japanese 5.1ch AC-3 @ 448 Kbps

https://nitro.download/view/060B01BE63302AB/Himizu.2011.576p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

Language(s):Japanese
Subtitles:English

The post Shion Sono – Himizu (2011) first appeared on Cinema of the World.