WHY DON'T YOU PLAY IN HELL?

When it comes to Sion Sono’s recent output he has the dubious distinction of being consistently inconsistent.  He continually follows up a great film, with a mediocre one and vice-versa, starting with 2010’s “Cold Fish” which was excellent, he then followed that with the very poor “Guilty of Romance”.  That in turn was followed by the flat out brilliant “Himizu” (my personal favourite film of his), but he then let me down with “The Land Of Hope” which, although its heart was in the right place, was only so-so.  Therefore going by this theory, Sono’s latest film “Why Don’t You Play In Hell?” should be guaranteed to be awesome.  Let’s see if this theory continues to hold up.

The opening of “Why Don’t You Play In Hell?” begins ten years prior to the present where we witness the beginnings of two storylines that will ultimately come together by the end of the film.  First up, we have the story of two Yakuza clans who are constantly at war with one another.  Yakuza boss Muto survives a hit on his life when his domestic wife lays waste to the four rivals with a kitchen knife.  So vicious was her attack that she was sentenced to ten years in prison and worse, her young daughter’s famous toothpaste ad is taken off of the air. Next up we meet a bunch of teenage film geeks whose only dream is to film one great movie.  They spend their days talking about films and roaming around Tokyo with an 8mm camera shooting whatever looks interesting, be it a gang fight or a blood-spattered Yakuza member walking home after some sort of battle.  Skip ahead ten years, and Muto is preparing for his wife’s return from jail.  The only thing that kept her going in jail was knowing that her now adult daughter, Mitsuko, had become a famous actress.  This was actually a fantasy created by Muto, although not through lack of effort as he tried numerous times to get his daughter into a film via his Yakuza influence, but Mitsuko was not making it easy for him.  Knowing he has ten days to make a real film before his wife gets home, Muto hires the now adult guerilla filmmakers and gives them carte blanche to create their ultimate dream: a real movie shot on 35mm film.  Muto and Hirata, the director of the group, decide to film the real life gang war between the same two Yakuza clans who are still at war, with Mitsuko having a starring role.  What follows next, is not for the faint of heart.

Well it seems that the theory holds true because “Why Don’t You Play In Hell?” is a very good film.  In fact it is the most entertaining film Sion Sono has made for a very long time.  This is the first time since 2008’s “Love Exposure” that he has made a film in his balls-out-gonzo style where anything and everything can happen, and often does.  Seriously, there is so much insanity within this film, I was surprised I was able to come up with a plot summary that made any sense at all.  Everything I have written above is the baseline of the plot, but there are so many more characters and subplots within this film that including everything was just not possible.  After the seriousness of Sono’s past five films, it is so good to see him just have fun and be as silly and as inventive as possible.  With the huge amount of content in this film, not all of it works (in fact, some of it is downright clunky) but the sheer exuberance on display in “Why Don’t You Play In Hell?” overpowers you and you are easily able to look past the film’s flaws.

Everything that makes a Sion Sono film, a “Sion Sono” film is on full display here.  The movie is absolutely ridiculous, is bloody as all heck and has some of the most bizarre and original visuals I have seen in a film for a long time.  The repeated image of a young Mitsuko gliding across the blood drenched floor of her house (after her mother’s massacre) is an image that will stay with me forever.  The reason why Sono is able to get away with what he does here is because the film is actually a comedy.  If this was played straight, it would be far too much for any audience to handle.  The bloodbath at the end is the most violent thing I have seen in a film since the finale of “Kill Bill – Volume 1”, but because it is so over-the-top and cartoony, Sono is able to get away with murder (hee-hee).  The mayhem is hard to comprehend and the body count is massive, but this glorious set piece is let down by the use of CGI blood that looks so unnatural that it takes away a bit of the grandness of the scene.  As well as the good things that Sono always brings to a film, his flaws are also present here too.  The film is a bit too long, and he yet again lets a couple of his actors overact to the extreme.  While he can get away with it more here due to “Why Don’t You Play In Hell?” being a comedy, I still thought Hiroki Hasegawa (who plays director Hirata) and Shinichi Tsutsumi (who played the rival Yakuza boss) went too far over the top and should have been reigned in.

Speaking of actors, my favourite character was the adult Mitsuko, and I was delighted to see that Sono had cast Fumi Nikaido in the role.  Compared to the role she played for Sono in “Himizu” (and for Takashi Miike in “Lesson Of The Evil” too), I would say that she has been cast against type here but Nikaido does a wonderful job at playing the kick ass, take-no-shit adult daughter of Yakuza boss Muto.  She also looks very spunky brandishing a samurai sword and dealing out death during the finale.  I was also very happy to see that Sono found a place for Megumi Kagurazaka to make a cameo (she plays one of Muto’s mistresses) and to keep their streak of films working together going (Kagurazaka has been in Sono’s previous five films).

Much has been made about the fact that “Why Don’t You Play In Hell?” is a valentine to cinema and particularly to 35mm film.  There is a sense that Sono understands that nothing will surpass the greatness of 35mm while realizing that to continue making films, he must evolve and move with the times and thus shoot digital (which he has been doing for years anyway).  However, 35mm will always be king.  While the film is no doubt a celebration of cinema, I also felt that Sono was being critical of filmmakers who confuse movies with reality, and those who make movies without living life themselves.  The filmmakers highlighted in the film sit around for years dreaming about making a film, whilst letting their lives pass them by at the same time.  So while it is great to follow your dreams, living life to its fullest is just as important, and you can then bring these life experiences to the films you then make.  The other thing I think that Sono is taking a jab at is the real life involvement of the Yakuza in Japanese film productions, which has always been.

Overall, there is never a dull moment in “Why Don’t You Play In Hell?” and the film is a very entertaining comedy.  Sure, not everything works in the film, and it is a little long, but its positives far outweigh the negatives in this case.  It is a bold, brash parody of samurai / gangster films that is the bloodiest thing you will see in a cinema all year.  And if that is not enough to sell the film to you, the film also has a cute toothpaste jingle in it that once heard will never leave your head (whether that is a good thing or not, I will leave up to you).  Now hopefully Sion Sono can break this up and down formula with his next film, “Tokyo Tribes”, and deliver two great films in a row.  Until then, enjoy “Why Don’t You Play In Hell?”; it is the craziest thing out there right now.

3.5 Stars.