Love Exposure

Name: Love Exposure
Genre: Action, Drama, Comedy, Romance
Released: September 2, 2011
Duration: 237 min
Rating: 78

2011

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 35 Ratings

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8.2

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8.2	User Score Universal acclaim based on 35 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Olive Films | Release Date: September 2, 2011 | Not Rated

Summary: Yu is the son of a widower turned priest who is having an affair with one of his followers. When the affair ends, the priest begins pressuring his son to seek absolution for all his sins. The pressure to confess to his father becomes so demanding that Yu has to commit new sins to have material. This leads Yu to find porn stardom and meetYu is the son of a widower turned priest who is having an affair with one of his followers. When the affair ends, the priest begins pressuring his son to seek absolution for all his sins. The pressure to confess to his father becomes so demanding that Yu has to commit new sins to have material. This leads Yu to find porn stardom and meet the man-hating virgin of his dreams.… Expand

Director: Shion Sono

Genre(s): Action, Drama, Comedy, Romance

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 237 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

The Telegraph Tim Robey

Feb 6, 2017

The movie’s invigorating discourse on sin, lust and love is propelled by a kind of Dionysian glee which keeps it airborne almost constantly. Read full review

100

David Lewis

Sep 1, 2011

This intricately plotted Japanese epic has so many twists and turns - not to mention bizarre characters with even more bizarre backstories - that the time will fly by. As the old cliche goes, you will not have another moviegoing experience quite like this one all year. Read full review

Jeannette Catsoulis

Sep 1, 2011

Merging the sacred and the profane, the bloody and the batty, Love Exposure tunnels into serious topics - warped parenting, sexual intolerance and the way religious cults enslave damaged souls - with a hilariously blasphemous shovel. Read full review

Time Out London David Jenkins

Feb 6, 2017

These dysfunctional, hypersensitive Japanese teens and their quest for erotic and spiritual enlightenment make for a swooning, often riotously funny melodrama charged with a refreshingly perverse undertow. Read full review

Empire Phil de Semlyen

Feb 6, 2017

Complicated and long but deftly handled adventure/caper/satire that ends up being thoroughly entertaining Read full review

Mark Olsen

Feb 6, 2017

The film's maximalist storytelling, both expansive and precise, snatching specific emotions from its torrid swirl, is best exemplified by the fact that the title card doesn't appear until an hour in. Read full review

Mark Jenkins

Sep 2, 2011

It's a campy rampage that runs a few minutes shy of four hours, dooming what otherwise would likely be a bright future as a midnight movie. Read full review

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User Reviews

Seriosity

Mar 24, 2013

Demands to be considered amongst the greatest films of all time. A 4-hour masterpiece that feels more like a full sprint than a methodically paced marathon.

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

Mahmus

Sep 25, 2020

The amount of madness that this movie throws at you for four hours straight is incredible.

It has religion, martial arts, upskirt photography, brainwashing, lesbians, cults, kidnapping, crossdressing, massacres, castration and so much more. If you told me to take all those elements andThe amount of madness that this movie throws at you for four hours straight is incredible.

It has religion, martial arts, upskirt photography, brainwashing, lesbians, cults, kidnapping, crossdressing, massacres, castration and so much more.

If you told me to take all those elements and make a movie out of them, I'd call you insane. Well, here it is, and it is insane, and I love it.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

MY-Manga

May 19, 2017

Love Exposure würde ich als Glücksgriff bezeichnen, als ich mal wieder mir dachte „Hay schau doch mal wieder ein Film“ zog ich mir eine noch ungeöffnete Blu-Ray aus dem Regal. Ohne irgend eine Erwartung schaute ich Dießen Film und war überrascht. Kaum ein Film hat mich so geflasht wieLove Exposure würde ich als Glücksgriff bezeichnen, als ich mal wieder mir dachte „Hay schau doch mal wieder ein Film“ zog ich mir eine noch ungeöffnete Blu-Ray aus dem Regal. Ohne irgend eine Erwartung schaute ich Dießen Film und war überrascht. Kaum ein Film hat mich so geflasht wie dieser. Nicht nur das Themen behandelt werden, wo mancher Deutsche Filmemacher schreiend wegrennen würde, nein auch noch wegen seiner Typisch Japanische Art wirkt er wie eine Traum eines Verrückten. Teilweise fragt man sich, was man rauchen muss um auf so eine Idee zu kommen. Trotz seiner Länge wird einem nie Langweilig. Ich kann Dießen jeden nur wärmsten ans Herz legen.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

JLuis_001

Jun 19, 2021

Before I started watching this film, I received warnings about how exhausting and overwhelming it could be.
From the outset, I can say that these are not things that one as a viewer expects to hear about any film, because no matter how hard you try, it's very difficult not to mentallyBefore I started watching this film, I received warnings about how exhausting and overwhelming it could be.
From the outset, I can say that these are not things that one as a viewer expects to hear about any film, because no matter how hard you try, it's very difficult not to mentally predispose yourself when you're expecting something that will obviously demand a lot from you.

And the thing about this 4-hour epic is that it certainly gets overwhelming, but that feeling has nothing to do with the themes and the tone of it.
Above all, I must emphasize that because much of the narrative feels quite light, which I must say surprised me, and more than anything because you can follow the line of events without them feeling as scrambled as they usually do in the other films of Sion Sono.

Love Exposure is not a film that challenges you as a viewer.
The story is not intended to be one that becomes a vehicle for some kind of philosophical, religious, or moral revelation.

It's simply a love story that involves idiosyncrasies that you will never see in the mainstream, both for its violent exploration and its sexual exploration without taboos that range from religious fanaticism to child abuse.

The reason Love Exposure is overwhelming is that it never justifies its duration.
It's true that this allows Sono to give his characters a bit more background, but it's not something that Sono takes much advantage of.
Especially since there are many parts where, even with violence, they feel cartoonish.

I could hardly treat what unfolds on screen as something more serious than it actually is, but I would also expect the matter to be more focused and concentrated.

Knowing how to be concise is not a bad thing, and even with his achievements, Sono fails again in that important aspect in what is considered his magnum opus.

Still, it's well worth it, and on my part, I can truly say this film is not an exhausting and overwhelming experience, but it definitely does need patience.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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