Nutty yakuza comedy from Sion Sono. It's overlong, particularly with an interminable set-up, but once we get to the big action set piece you'll find it well worth the wait. A group of amateur filmmakers calling themselves the F Bombers (led by Hiroki Hasegawa) has spent a decade looking for the opportunity to make a real movie. Fortunately (or unfortunately) for them, a yakuza gang is looking for someone to make a feature starring the boss's daughter (Jun Kunimura is the boss, Fumi Nikaido the daughter). Hasegawa proposes that they film the real-life gang war that is bound to happen with the rival gang (led by Shin'ichi Tsutsumi). Sono really could have shortened the film considerably had he realized the character played by Gen Hoshino, the love interest of Nikaido, was worthless and jettisoned him. Or, more obviously, he should have been combined with Hasegawa's character. As it is, Hoshino plays a shy, ineffectual character and he pretty much gets shoved to the background anytime the more lively Hasegawa is on screen. I can't imagine anyone caring about his burgeoning relationship with the drop-dead gorgeous Nikaido. None of this really matters once we get to the blood-soaked finale, which is about as fun as any movie I've seen in recent memory.

There are some movies that are such a mishmash of awesomeness, it is hard to believe they exist as a movie. By this, I mean - there are so many genres that co-exist in one movie, it is hard to believe they exist period. Most movies choose to exist in one genre with maybe a subgenre; anything beyond that and we get into the realm of comedy and ridiculousness. Enter "Why Don't You Play in Hell" which is just that. The movie co-exists between documentary, college friends going out on a (local) adventure, Samurai showdown, Yakuza, a discrepancy of nearly ten years that separates two halves of the movie (past and future), as well as the artistic style that is Japanese blood and limb dismemberment. Did I mention that this film is not American, but is actually of Japanese origin? And with a title like "Why Don't You Play in Hell", I can see why. This is just the tip of the iceberg though.The film starts out with what appears to be a packin commercial for "Gagaga" toothpaste; it stars a young girl in a white outfit. This commercial actually plays a larger part in the movie and is referenced numerous times. Fast forward to a group of amateur movie making enthusiasts that are in the midst of making their own movie; they crash into a gang that is mid-scuffle and they start to record and direct. Fast forward again to two different Yakuza groups that have their own skirmishes. Fast forward again and we see the little girl from the commercial walking into a home full of blood. Turns out her mother did some handiwork with some Yakuza that tried to take her (mother) down; the girl turns out to be the daughter of a Yakuza lord. The film jumps back and forth between these groups frequently and it leads to a very confusing, but interesting mish- mash. It isn't evident how they will all play together, but it does happen in the latter part of the film - I won't spoil it.The film has a lot of blatant humor - it has a homage to Bruce Lee in the form of an actor in a film directly copying and mimicking his known style. The opening commercial, while confusing as to why it is there, is funny in its own right and then gets many references to it as a running gag in the rest of the film. The movie's claim to fame would have to be the amateur film makers that call themselves the "Fuck Bombers". The artistic feel of Japanese blood spraying from dismembered limbs is used throughout the film; it has a few moments where it is both ridiculous and fake. The pool of blood that awaits a young girl in her kitchen is nearly a foot deep - impossible with the amount of people involved. The entire movie almost feels like it is a parody of many genres at once; it also feels like a Quentin Tarantino movie, specifically "Kill Bill", but it could be that Kill Bill uses a similar premise - not to mention it also has "The Bride" in a yellow Bruce Lee jumpsuit.The film is far from being a train wreck, and due to the mashup of things, it must close all of them or it wouldn't be a very good movie. It does just that in the last half of the movie. More importantly, we get to see why all of the characters interact and are involved the way they are. Just about every character gets some kind of closure, although at least once gets an inappropriate death. The film only has one bad side - and that is when all of the action built up to a certain point is suddenly dropped due to an outside force; but I will not spoil that either.If you like B-grade movies of a foreign affair, this will most certainly be a pleasant viewing.Originally posted to Orion Age (http://www.orionphysics.com/? p=11073).

Sono seems to be the only film maker left who I feel I can always depend on to make a great movie. I was a little worried in the beginning that he was just trying to make a stupid Hollywood-type comedy, but it turned out there was a good reason for this. In the extra features on the DVD, he gives a press conference with a friend of his, the editor of a Japanese film magazine that specializes in films like Sono makes. It turned out that there actually was a Film Club called "The F-ck Bombs", and it was started by Sono and his friend. Many of the scenes in the beginning when they were chased by kids in the park and called idiots, actually happened to Sono when he was first starting to make films, only Sono was thirty years old when that happened to him, and the experience was extremely traumatic for him. Sono started out as a poet, and only started making films when he was much older. This movie is about him reliving that time in his life, and also a homage to Bruce Lee films. It has nothing to do with inferior film makers like Tarantino. The only other director who constantly turns out good films like Sono is Todd Solondz, IMHO.

The more movies of Sion Sono's that I see, the more I realize that he is one of the greatest artists working today. It's a big claim and I don't like to kiss ass, but the man is one of the few people working in entertainment and art that sees through the current state of the world and instead of criticizing it, he creates a stylish farce that inspires, entertains, and breaks our balls for believing in what we do, in the way we do. He challenges us in a playful way, that I believe is more compelling than the other artists that attempt to do the same thing through relating trauma in films that Hollywood seems to like concerning war, disease, rags to riches to rags, etc...The world is absurd because of the people in it. The characters. Of course this life is a saga, a tragedy, an adventure, a romance, but above all it is a chaotic mess filled with jokes and gore. Filled with weirdos that are completely out of place on this planet and weirdos that are even more in place. I love Sion Sono's films and this one in particular lives up to what I love about them. This film gives me hope in the world. I won't spoil it for you. It's about yakuzas clashing with a film crew. It's about me and you. It's about you and me. Yakuzas and a film crew.