Love & Peace

Even though I have seen a few of Sion Sono's films this was a little bit unexpected. Firstly the film starts off as a bit of an awkward romance, a typical out of place pair in an ordinary situation, picked upon by the people around them.

However, as the movie progresses, the movie takes some very interesting and cute turns into a semi surreal and touching fantasy. In some ways, this movie is two separate stories twisted into one, - one starring the legendary Toshiyuki Nishida (known in the West largely from his role as Pigsy in "Monkey") and the other, the central figure Ryo, played by Hiroki Hasegawa.

While not perfect, the movie is touching and emotional, hard to pull off considering some of the surreal circumstance. It has its funny moments, but largely a surreal light drama, and has a touch of the Christmas movie about it. For Sion Sono fans and fans of the fantastic, its worth it for the ending.